The Serendipity of my existence
by AranelEraisuithiel
Summary: “I will not leave her out of my sight, Edward” Trust me, she will be fine under my surveillance. “How long?” his gaze fell back to the darkened room. “I’m not sure. Nothing is clear at the moment” I frowned. She is getting closer, though.
1. The nightmare

**The Serendipity of my existence**

**Prologue**

The nightmare

_Just in my mind, not real life  
I must be dreaming –Evanescence-_

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* * *

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_I found myself__ running so fast that I thought my lungs would burst in any moment. Everything around me was pitch-black dark, making it impossible to see where I was going. The gushing cold wind had made my muscles sore and stiff, turning my run into a slow, weak intent to catch up with what ever I was chasing after. _

_You can't quit now. Go! __ A frantic voice yelled in the inside of my ears, forcing me to keep going, or at least to try. Fear rippled trough my insides, I didn't understand why I felt so afraid, but somehow knew that I would find out soon enough._

_My heart rate was vicious, making every breath to pierce inside._

I won't make it in time. I won't make it! I have to stop them!_ I cringed _

"_No! Please, wait!"__ I pleaded at the top of my lungs to the emptiness ahead of me. Tears streaming down my cheeks, making my already useless view, even more vulnerable. And as if it wasn't bad enough, I tripped and slammed hard against the pavement._

_Then, I heard it. An ear-splitting screech instantly followed by horrified screams. A white blinding light made my eyes close shut and I knew I was too late. _

_* * *_

I woke my self up muffling my own terrified screams with my pillow. Something heavy and metallic smashed against the wall of my room, making me swallow a panicked gasp and jump violently in bed. Panting uncontrollably, I placed the palm of my hand on my chest and felt as if I'd ran a 10 k marathon. My night gown was completely soaked in sweat, sticking to me as if I'd sprayed myself with a hose or something.

_Hope I didn't wake Cathy__ up _I cringed remembering my frightened yell and the hurtle against the wall. _It's a good thing Cath is a heavy sleeper._

I threw an apologizing look through the half opened door of my room and relaxed once I heard a low snore come from across the short hall. I hated closing my door when my parents weren't home. Call it childish if you like, but the fact of being able to see into my sister's room was rather soothing. It made me feel safe in a way.

Still fighting to regain the little control I had over my gasping breaths, I silently wondered what time it was, hopefully wishing that it was morning soon. My eyes darted to the small table next to my bed, looking for the alarm clock. But I narrowed my eyes a bit irritated once I didn't find it there.

_Damn it!_ I cussed.

A dim green-florescent light on top of a pile of dirty laundry placed carelessly on the floor caught my attention. _Stupid piece of junk!_ I shook my head and focused on reading the time.

"2:00 am" I frowned thinking that I had almost four hours of darkness until the break of light. I shuddered again at the deliberation of falling back to sleep, but the flashes of my nightmare kept poking bye, making me shiver in place.

_God, i__t felt so real _I tried to swallow but found it quite difficult. My throat was closed.

Then suddenly, the phone rang in the kitchen, abruptly breaking the deep silence that roamed the house and startling me even more. I heard it ring a couple of more times and deep inside my mind I knew that I should stand up and answer it but, for some reason, I didn't.

I heard Catherine stir in her bed a few times; then she mumbled something unintelligible and walked out of her room.

"Who could be calling at this time at night?" she sighed, annoyed, as she walked by my half opened door. I didn't know if she was aware that I was already awake or not.

For some strange reason, my heart began to race again. I had a really bad feeling as chills ran down my spine and sweat dewed on my forehead.

_It wasn't__ over yet. Something's very wrong _My chest began to ache as the idea began to sink in. I don't know how to explain it, but deep down inside I knew that something horrible had happened. Call it a hunch, a premonition, what ever… but it was definitively happening.

I heard Cathy's voice answering the phone, the kitchen was just next to the stairs. I fought against my self as I tried to get up from bed, but my knees wouldn't budge, they were shaky and mushy. I didn't want to hear what she was saying, but I had to know. And by her frantic tone, I understood that it was already done.

"KRIS!?!?" she screamed my name frantically as the phone smashed against the kitchen's floor. "KRISTEN!?!?" she called again. I could sense the agony in her beautiful voice.

A horrified gasp left my lips as I stood frozen half way towards the door, I didn't even remember getting there. My hands immediately flew to my mouth as my sight blurred with bitter tears._ God, please, don't…!_

I heard Cathy stumble numbly through the stairs, finally reaching up to my room and opening the door. She was pale as a ghost and her eyes were wide and terrified, shaking violently from head to toe. She stared at me for the longest time, not being able to say a word. The gaunt expression on her beautiful face must have mirrored my own.

Her lips parted slightly and I braced myself for the worst.

"They're… at the hospital" she managed to choke out.

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**A/N: **thank you so much for reading the prologue. I really hope you liked it. I know it doesn't say much but all will fit in like a perfect puzzle as the story continues to develop.

**Just press on that little button and REVIEW! Come on, you know you want to **


	2. Dealing with destiny

**The Serendipity of my existence**

**Dealing with destiny**

"_Once destiny takes its course, there's nothing you can do to stop it._

_Either you embrace it or you suffer along the way"-CM-_

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* * *

_

Catherine and I hopped inside her volskwagen without another word, only tears of denial streaming down on both our eyes.

We made it to the Hospital within 15 mins at 120 mph. _God knows how we survived the trip!_ Not sure where we parked or how I made it all the way inside the building, I dragged myself sluggishly through the white hall, watching Catherine run towards the front desk where a nurse spoke something to her and pointed to the right.

There was a horrible ringing in my ears and my whole body felt completely numb. Everything went hazy and slow, the voices and sounds around me seemed to be distorted. In the back of my head I knew had to do something, go somewhere, maybe follow Catherine, but… I couldn't think straight, nothing made sense.

Looking disoriented as I was, a boy close to my age walked towards me and asked me if I need help with something. I barely looked at his worried face once and then my eyes found the fragile figure of my sister standing in the middle of the hall, with a tall balding man I white.

_The doctor._

I garbled something to the boy and swooned as I tried to walk towards Cath, but I immediately froze in place once I saw her shake her head, throwing her hands over her face and sobbed deeply. She began to sway from one side to the other, the doctor tried to steady her, placing his hands around her shoulders, but she squirmed out if his grasp. She let out a loud cry, and swayed even harder now, but the man acted quickly and caught her in time before she hit the ground; she buried her face in his chest and began crying.

Slowly, I grasped what it meant.

The white walls surrounding me seemed to close on me abruptly; it was as if the sound of everything and everyone within a mile radius, was cranked up to the highest level. I began gasping for breath and almost shrieking in pain as the intense sound consumed me.

_Please… no, I beg you__!!! T_he air was punched out of me as I took my sister's expression once she finally let go of the doctor.

_Who__? Both of them? Not both, please! _I closed my eyes in denial, angry tears streaming down my cheeks and wetting my blue shirt. My chest throbbed painfully and I felt myself sway.

_This isn't real! This…__ just can't _My heart, my chest, my whole body was in such agonizing torture that I deeply wished I would just split open and die.

_Anything but this__!_

My knees finally gave in and I collapsed hard against the white marble of the floor. A nurse that was close by quickly ran to my side and picked me up; my body was as if boneless once she place me on a chair.

"Calm down, honey. Breathe." she said soothingly. "You are going to give yourself a heart attack" she rubbed my shoulder. "I'll bring you some water, wait here" and she left.

The loud buzzing inside my head gave me the urge to slam it against the wall, hard, just to put an end to it, but I couldn't make myself move. As I hyperventilated, my hands were pressing hard against the piercing paint that almost knocked me unconscious.

"This can't be happening, this just can't be happening!" I heard myself wail hoarsely.

Through bitterness and tears, I looked up at Catherine and the doctor once more, it was really difficult to make out what he was saying."… need to operate… give her blood… transfusion as soon as possible…sign in order to authorize it…."

_Mom needs an operation?_The pain throbbed once more at the thought.

_What about Dad?_ I suddenly realized he hasn't said a word about him.

_Why wasn't he saying anything about DAD!?__ WHY ISN'T HE MENTIONING DAD?!?!?! _ Several searing slashes ripped the insides of my chest.

Catherine gave a hollow nod and slowly signed the clipboard the man in white held. The doctor said something else and disappeared out of view. Catherine was still standing there, one hand on her chest, the other on her mouth. I saw her take several deep breaths and then, slowly, she looked my way.

"NO!" I pleaded. I didn't want her to come to me, I didn't want to hear what she would say.

"Stay where you are Catherine" It came out as a threat more than a plea "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" I shook my head at her as she continued to walk towards me, agony in her soul.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE CATH, PLEASE!!" I yelled loudly at her. My hands on my face, every inch of my body quivering uncontrollably; my eyes were shut so hard that it burned. "He can't be!!_"_

Cathy was already standing in front of me. She hesitated for a second, and then, she knelt to be at my level, her fragile hands on my shoulders, shaking me a bit. Then, she pulled me towards her chest, hugged me tightly and whispered my name "Kris? Kristen. Look at me."

I shook my head in denial, my throat burning with anger and grief.

Catherine managed to sit on the seat beside me and pulled towards her, so my face was on her shoulder. "Shh.. shh… calm down Kristen" she said sweetly. Her voice broke in the end; I didn't need to look at her to know that she was crying. Hearing my sister brake like this made me cry even louder.

"Please calm down…" she sobbed, her fingers soothingly caressing my face and my hair.

"I-I need you to listen to me for a sec-…"

"NO!" I muffled my voice against her arm. "I don't want to hear it. Don't you dare say it Catherine! Don't you DARE SAY IT!!!" I screamed in agonizing pain, my nails digging hard on her jacket, wanting to rip it apart.

"DON'T TELL ME HE'S GONE, CATHERINE!!!! DON'T!!!" I kept screaming hysterically over and over again. My eyes were still shut tightly, avoiding to confront reality, whilst a strong wave of anger shook me even harder.

"_HE'S NOT DEAD, CATHERINE!! HE ISN'T DEAD!! THE DOCTOR GOT IT ALL WRONG!!! He made a mistake… HE ISNT DEAD!!!"_

Catherine held me even tighter as I trashed back and forth in her embrace.

_CRASH! _ A piercing shattering of glass erupted near us, as if a huge stone was thrown against one of the doors or windows close of the hospital. Several gasps and cries of shock followed the disturbing sound immediately. I felt Catherine jump startled by it, but didn't say a word, she just held me tighter. I, on the other hand, didn't even flinch.

"Please Kristen, you have to calm down. Please, honey… breathe" She said soothingly over and over again, smoothing my hair out of my face with her hands. "Just calm down, love. Please, I need you to calm"

She slowly pushed my head to her lap, and began rocking me back and forth; she placed her lips to my ear and whispered that everything was going to be ok, that somehow we were going to find a way through this.

H_ow could this possibly be ok? We were in the middle of a FUCKING HOSPITAL! How the hell could this be ok? _My nails dug painfully against the skin of my arms as I continued to sob.

_He was GONE__! OUR FATHER WAS DEAD!!! HOW THE HELL COULD THIS POSSIBLY BE OK? DAMN IT!!!! _

"It's all my fault, Catherine. I shouldn't have insisted them on going…" I squirmed out of her embrace and tried to sit straight.

"What? No! Kristen, this isn't your fault honey" he hugged me even tighter, her voice brittle and tormented.

"Yes, it is!" I broke free from her, meeting her eyes "I kept telling them they should go to San Francisco. I-I didn't know that this w-…"

"No, it's not! Please… just stop it. Stop blaming yourself, Kristen" she began crying louder, her hands anxiously going to her face, scratching it in desperation. Then is where she finally shattered into pieces and finally let the grief catch up with her.

All I could do was pull her into a hug and closed my eyes. I don't know how long we stayed locked like this, it seemed like an eternity. Until we finally got a grip on ourselves and broke apart; our breathing was still ragged, but our shaking and sobbing were under control.

"What happened?" I asked in a voice I didn't recognize. It was barely a whisper, a dead sound.

She looked at me with a grim face, hesitating a little. "They… were on the freeway on their way back home" Catherine's voice shook. "Dad h-had a heart attack while driving… he l-lost control of the car and…" her eyes began to water, I already begun crying silently.

She took a deep breath. "And… flew out of the freeway, crashing into another car". She closed her eyes again, her beautiful face drowned in angst and pain.

"He died instantly, even before the impact" Her eyes slowly opened again. "Once the ambulance arrived, they immediately began working on Mom". She held a sob. "The doctors still don't know if she'll make it through the operation. She's in a very critical condition right now" her voice broke again and could say no more. I held both of her hands in mine, squeezing them tightly.

_Dad was gone and Mom was fighting for her life! This was a horrible nightmare!_

_Why wasn't I waking up! Wake up Kristen, please wake up__! Make yourself wake up!_

This was the longest and most horrible night of my life. I was in the deepest of darkest moments of desperation and all I had left to do… was to wait.

- - - - - - - -

After waiting for almost 12 hrs. the doctor finally gave us the good news that Mom survived the surgery and that they were only waiting for her heart to be strong enough to survive the 1st night. If she did, then it would only be a matter of time so she could recover and even go back home.

_We could breathe again._

But the fact of our other loss gave us the most horrified heartache ever imagined. I just couldn't imagine living my life without Dad. I couldn't even think of waking up in the morning an not being able to hear his voice when he called out loudly "Morning sunshine, nice hair" and tussled it, not caring if I'd had a hard time brushing it to stay in place.

I couldn't imagine not seeing him dance around my mom whilst she cooked, bumping her with his butt and making her complain that she just needed 10 more minutes to finish the meal but ended up dancing with him instead.

I would miss his cologne, his slippers, his Sunday newspaper on the table next to his cup of coffee. I would miss his sneaking-up kisses late at night as he thought I was sleeping ( I kept telling him that I was way to old to be tucked in, but loved it when he did so).

He wouldn't be there when I'd graduate from college, he wouldn't be there to meet my boyfriend, or hold me close as he walked me down the isle on my wedding day. He wouldn't meet his grand children and take them to their baseball games.

He wouldn't… be.

Not anymore.

- - - - - -

We gave Dad a small, private funeral that only involved our closest family members: Jay-Catherine's fiancé-, Aunt Lily –Dad's only sister-, Aunt Maggie and Uncle Rob –Mom's siblings-, Catherine and me.

It was something very humble, but full of emotion and longing.

"He really is gone, isn't he?" I whispered to Catherine as we both stared at the coffin where the lifeless body of our father lay. Even under these conditions, he was still handsome.

"Yes. He really is gone." She squeezed my hands in hers as we bid our farewell to the man that taught me how to love and how to appreciate the simple things in life.

_You will always remain in my hear, Dad._

Once we paid our goodbyes to our beloved father, we incinerated his body, placing his ashes into two small urns. One of them was meant to be kept in our house and the other would be taken back to Dad's former home, so it could be placed with the ashes of Grandma and Grandpa Evans.

"Here" Jay came to me a few days later with a jewelry box. I took it in my hands and slowly opened it to find a silver heart-shaped locket inside.

"So you can always have _him_ close to your heart" his green eyes were full of tears as he spoke and all I could do was whisper a thank you and hug him tightly.

Jay had given Catherine the same locket which held a pinch of our father's ashes. It was the most beautiful present that I've ever received. _Well, the second most beautiful present _I admitted to myself, as my finger slowly traced across the bracelet on my wrist.

Of course it's meaning was completely different.

Even though Mom knew about Dad, she never asked even once. She eyed Cath's and my locket, but didn't say a word of them, she merely gave a small smile. She knew he was gone.

She focused all her strength on getting better. So, finally, after three long and horrible months at the hospital, Mom was home. According to the doctor, she still needed several checkups on the next following months and that she needed resting, so she couldn't return to work in a while.

Mom didn't like that "Oh, don't be silly. I feel fine" she used to protest.

Time passed by carelessly and we tried to continued on with our lives. The loss of Dad left a huge and very painful gap in our small family. And we felt it even worse on the day of Catherine's wedding.

Catherine and Jay were going to surprise our parents when they came back from their trip to San Francisco by taking them to dinner and give them the good news, but in-love couple never had a chance.

Uncle Rob took Dad's place and walked Catherine down the isle on her big day. But, it just felt so wrong. Watching the scene sent a piercing pain in my heart. I couldn't take it anymore, it was so painful. But I had to find a way to myself keep it together, for Cathy's sake.

_You'll have all night __to cry Kristen_ I repeated every time I felt I would burst out in tears_._

After Jay and Cathy's wedding, it was just Mom and me at the house. We revolved over the same routine and tried to make our life normal again. I went to school and Mom began worked at home; I took her to therapy and Cathy took her to the Doctor's appointments. And even though the Doctors said that Mom was physically recovering incredibly fast, her expression was grim, gray and weak. Her spirit went low and small.

She didn't smile anymore and she barely spoke to any of us. Slowly, she fell into a deep depression that we couldn't stop. We were loosing her to her pain and there was nothing we could do to help.

We tried making her take some anti-depressives –Doctor's orders- but always found them under her pillow or behind the plants or on the toilet. She didn't want to feel better, she just didn't want to be here anymore. And even though she didn't say it out loud, I could read it in her eyes.

_She misses dad. She misses him greatly._

One morning I woke up with a horrible feeling inside my chest. And as if knowing that something was utterly wrong, I went directly to Mom's bedroom and knocked several times. I shivered once she didn't answer and I opened the door.

The room smelled like Dad's lavender cologne, his scent made my eyes water while my heart throbbed painfully against my chest. _Oh, how I miss you Dad!_

My eyes searched for mom and found her on her bed, hugging Dad's old blue cashmere sweater, fasten asleep. She had the most peaceful expression I haven't seen in a long time on her face. Her lips were on a small smile, as if enjoying a deliciously pleasant dream. I'm sure that she was dreaming of Dad, and of their reunion at last.

She missed him so incredibly much… My heart was shredding in pieces just to think of the pain she must have felt with his death. They loved each other so much in life that even in _death _I was certain they would find one another.

Mom never woke up after that one last dream.

The Doctors said that she died of a heart attack in her sleep. I say she died of a _broken heart_. We incinerated her body with Dad's sweater and placed the ashes in a small urn. Both urns were placed in the cemetery near home. We, Catherine and I, added her pinch of ashes inside our locket and bid them farewell. Silently praying that they were finally reunited and happy once again.

- - - - - - -

After Mom's death, I placed a SALE sign on the house and decided to move out; the house held way too many painful memories for me to handle. I just couldn't bare staying there anymore; my heart couldn't take it. Catherine and Jay insisted that I moved in to their new big house. But I didn't want to become a burden to them. They were barely starting their life as newly-weds and… well, I guess I was always in a really crappy mood; I didn't really wanted to spoil their post-honeymoon grove.

But, either way, after Catherine literally pleading, I agreed to stay only for a little while until I found my very own place to live.

As time passed by, my social skills became really, really low. My mood became gloomy and dejected and I tried to avoid any alone time with Catherine or Jay. I knew what they would ask every time they had a chance to speak to me privately "Kris, so how are you"? "Do you want to talk?" "Is there anything I can help you with?" "Is there anything bothering you?" My typical answer was "I'm fine, don't worry."

_What did they expect me to say? The hell I'm fine, I'm really messed up! I feel totally confused and scared and I can't take this anymore? Why did this have to happen to us? To our family? Why couldn't I just stop__ped them in time?!?!?! _

_Damn it!!!!! Why couldn't they just leave me the HELL alone?_

Since I couldn't follow a long conversation, I tried to avoid them at all costs. I spent most of my free time locked inside my "room". They began to get really concerned about me; so, they decided that I needed help.

They made several appointments with some specialists to treat my depression, but, just like Mom, I didn't follow the Doctor's orders. Instead, I kept skipping school, got myself fired and spend most of my time walking around the street like a stray dog. Sometimes I didn't go back home until very, very late and all I got was a sadden look from my sister who usually fell asleep in the sofa, waiting for me.

I was tearing them apart and I knew it, but couldn't help myself. I just wanted to disappear, to stop existing.

Since doctors and pills didn't seem to have a positive response in me, they used their last resource.

On Saturday morning, the doorbell rang. Since I was already on the kitchen, making coffee for Cathy and Jay, I went to see who it was.

"A-Aunt Lily. What…" I stammered in surprise. "What are doing here? I-I mean… welcome…" I hugged the slim frame of my dear aunt who threw me a small smile that never touched her eyes.

"I came to see how my two favorite nieces in the world were" She smiled even wider, with a lot of effort. I could still notice the pain behind her voice. I tried to smile back and ease off a bit of the tension.

"We_ are_ the only nieces…" I rolled my eyes mockingly. I guess she noticed my effort to sound nonchalant, so she laughed softly.

"I know… that's why you are my favorites" she held my hand warmly in hers, the gesture made my eyes water slightly. "How are you, darling?' her voice was soft, careful.

I just nodded and avoided her eyes, I didn't want her to see into me. She'd always been good with that. And again, I fought back the tears building in my eyes.

_Why did th__at question always seem to tear me apart? Breathe Kristen, breathe. _I began blinking several times, not letting the tears roll down my cheeks. "Hanging…" My voice shook and I pretended to clear my throat.

She didn't say anything, just stared back at my face with her worried eyes.

"Aunt Lily, we are still standing in the doorway. Why don't you come in?" I quickly changed the subject and she didn't say another word but laughed a little bit more louder, said something that sounded like 'you are right, how silly of me' and followed me inside the living room, closing the door behind her.

"Aunt Lily! What a pleasant surprise!" Cathy's voice sounded genuine, but I knew she was pretending. _How old did they think I was? FIVE?_ Anyways, she ran towards our aunt and gave her a tight hug. "I hope you are staying for the rest of the week" she rose her brow at her.

"Of course, honey. I'll stay as long as you want" they exchanged a look of complicity, which I glowered internally at it.

I felt a pat on my back and turned around to find Jay's green piercing eyes looking worried at me. "You okay, kid?" his voice was low. I just stared at him for a second, and then nodded.

"Another nightmare?" he asked again, and my gaze found my feet, eyes filling up with angry and painful tears. I fought them back as much as I could, but one lousy tear seemed to break free and it ran angrily down my cheek. I immediately whipped it with my sleeve.

_He herd me scream last night._ I grimaced at the thought. I couldn't keep this up, I just couldn't. Every single night, since Mom's death, I've been having the same horrible nightmare; the one I had on the night of the accident. The screaming, trashing and throbbing must be getting worst. I could see it in their eyes.

I had to stop.

I excused myself and walked past all three of them, heading straight to the bathroom. Once the door was closed, I splashed water on my face and tried to regain control on my nerves. I had to try and pretend I was ok, or Aunt Lily would worry even more about me.

- - - - - - - - - -

We invited Aunt Lily to join us for breakfast (Jay made blueberry waffles with bacon and sunny side up eggs). I did feel nice to have our small family reunited on our table, sharing a meal and taking nonchalantly, well, at least they did, I kept utterly quiet. I was lost in my thoughts when a question made me regain attention.

"… do you think, Kristen?" Aunt Lily looked straight at me, her tone as if expecting an answer. I saw Cathy and Jay stare at me intently.

_I think she just asked you a question, Kris. Say something._

"Um… I'm so sorry Aunt Lily. Did you say something?" I asked a bit dazed. "I-I got a bit distracted thinking of a math project due next week..." I blinked several times and felt my cheeks turn red.

Her face softened and she smiled.

"I was just telling Catherine that I would love it if you would come and stay with me on Forks for a few days, when your term ends of course. What do you say about that?" She smiled broadly.

"Go… Go to Forks?" I asked slowly, hearing my own voice.

"That's the plan, kiddo" Her voice came out tensed.

And slowly as it sunk in, I smiled. She took in my gesture and smiled back.

"I would be great, Aunt Lily" The thought of it actually made me feel happy, something I haven't felt in a long time.

_I need a breath of fresh air. Forks was a great idea!_

"It's been a while since you've been to Forks. You can do a little bit of rock climbing there, hon and catch up with some old friends" Cathy's face was encouraging. I smiled at her as she winked at me.

"I'm in then" I felt excited. Everyone in the room seemed to breathe in relief. I haven't notice how much worry and concern I was putting them up with. This could be a perfect chance to let Cathy and Jay breathe with out me bursting their bubble and for me to just be free from all this pressure.

"Hey, you could even move in… I you like it there so much" Aunt Lily's face was bright, her tone teasing. But I knew she meant every word.

"That house is getting way too big for me and I totally need a roommate" She winked at me.

"Let's just leave it as a visit for now…" I chuckled amused.

"Ok" She left me off the hook, and continued talking about something else.

I began thinking about Forks and how long it's been since our last visit there. My heart began to feel warm, happy.

_I need to get away. I need to leave my past behind, just for a few days. It's all I ask, just a few days._ Maybe there was still hope for me. Forks seemed like the right choice.

Besides, there was someone I've been meaning to visit for some time now. I sighed to myself when I thought of a beautiful boy with russet skin, long black hair and a sweet smile.

_Jacob Black._

**_**

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_**A/N: **__Alright! So here's a small glimpse of the Life of Kristen Evans before she went to Forks. I thought it would be a good idea to start with this chapter, since it's very fundamental that you know what she's been through, so you can understand her character more._

_**Can't wait to read your reviews ;) **_


	3. One tiny mistake is all it takes

**The Serendipity of my existence**

**One tiny mistake was all it took**

"The seconds ticked by and all I could do was wait

to see that sweet smile once again..."

_

* * *

_

"_Attention passengers of flight AA21 with destiny to SEATTLE, please make your way to GATE B4 to begin the boarding procedure. Thank you"_ and the speaker was off.

"I guess this is it" Aunt Lily sighed whilst hugging Catherine and Jay one last time. Then she turned to me, her eyes shinning in anticipation. "And I will see YOU very soon" She winked at me and I smiled back, hugging her tightly. "I love you so much Kristen" She whispered softly in my ear before she kissed me in the cheek.

"I know… 'cause I'm your favorite, right?" I chuckled softly and she nodded.

"Exactly"

We broke our hug, and she made her way to the gate. She stopped before crossing the door and looked over at us, waving good-bye. "Very soon" she mouthed and I smiled even wider. Then, we lost her from view.

_I wish "very soon" would c__ome soon enough._ A small frown crossed my face and I shook it away, thinking about the green forest and beautiful springs that awaited me in just a couple of week.

"Cant wait" I suddenly clapped my hands together in an excited outburst, earning a strange-surprised look form Cath and Jay.

That night, I just couldn't make myself fall sleep. I guess I was excited because of my trip or anxious since I didn't want to face another nightmare. What ever the reason, I twirled, tossed and turned over and over on my bed effortlessly; until I finally gave up and turned on my lamp.

_Great, it's 2:00 a.m._ and remembered that had school in a couple of hours; I glowered at myself for not being sleepy. I was probably going to be all cranky tomorrow cause of my lack of sleep.

_Maybe some music would help. Yeah, Yurima always seems to soothe me down._ I quickly opened the drawer next to my bed and grabbed my ipod. I began shuffling and playing from song to song, but it didn't seem to help AT ALL.

And then finally, before I actually thought of throwing my ipod against the wall, 'Full Moon, by The Black Ghosts' began to play.

God, I loved that song so much. I always played it when I went rock climbing. It helped me focus and enjoy the moment. There was something about the lyrics…

_Hey! _Now that I thought about it, I was listening to "Full Moon" on my ipod the first time I rock climbed at Forks almost two years inevitable smile crossed my lips as I remembered the last time I was there….

_* * *_

(FLASH BACK: 2 years earlier, near the Quileute reservation)

"Come on Kristen, it's right there! Just a little higher… the ring is right there!" Jay's encouraging voice boomed from three feet under me. He was belaying me while I climbed.

My whole body trembled in fear and anticipation. My right hand was out stretched with the quick-draw secured between my fingers, ready. But, I just couldn't move. For some reason, I was frozen in place, afraid.

It was so close, and yet, that crux scared me to death.

I was near three feet from the last ringlet and if I would miss this move, I would fall three feet at incredible speed. It wasn't enough to kill anyone, but the fact of falling terrified me; the sensation was horrible and, you had a good chance of smashing some part of your body against the rock and damaging it really good.

_Good thing you're wearing your helmet!_ I frowned at the stupid lime-green helmet I was using instead of the black one I usually wore. I forgot mine at home, so I had to wear this horrible old thing that belonged to Jay's sister and deal with all their teasing.

It was my first time leading this new route. And sure, it looked easy if you saw it from the approach. But once I was on the damn rock, I wished I would have just let Jay lead this one.

_But, nooo__! _I internally kicked myself. _You just HAD to open your big mouth and say "Hey, I want to try this one, it looks smooth" Great Kristen, smart move!_

_Now, how the hell are you gonna pull this trough?_My eyes darted across the wall, trying to find a way to make the next move. I was getting tired and if I slipped, it would be bad.

_U-hu! That's right. If you fall it will hurt…_the voice teased.

"Oh, shut up, will you?!" I muttered to my brain, highly annoyed, I had no time for this. I was in a really uncomfortable position and a sure cramp was on the way; my body was already stiff and tired. My left leg was beginning to shake and the sweat was rolling down my eyes, making it hard for me to see. The fingers on my right hand were numb, and I knew that the quick-draw would slip from them very soon.

I just had to reach the damn ringlet, insert the freaking quick-drawso I could place the rope and avoid falling.

_You can do it! Come on, stop being such a girl!!!!_

"Come on Kris!" Cathy yelled out "Don't think about it! Just do it!"

Suddenly, a courageous outburst flowed freely through my body and I felt braver than ever.

"Al right! I'm going for it!" I yelled at Jay.

I sucked two sharp breaths and grunted out loudly, bringing my right knee at the height of my waist, placing my foot on a minuscule edge of the rock, using it as a step. My left hand instinctively searched for a safe edge to hold on to, and once finding it, I took my position.

With all the strength I could muster, I pushed myself up, holding all my weight on my right leg and praying to God-All-Mighty that my foot wouldn't give away. I stretched my right hand, reaching the ring, and quickly inserting the quick-draw on it.

"Give me rope!" I yelled loudly, a nervous edge on my tone.

I pulled the rope with my free hand all the way to my mouth, holding the rope with my teeth. It wasn't enough to reach the quick-draw. I pulled some more with my hand again and finally, it made it through.

"Safe!" I sighed in relief. "YEAH BABY! WOOHOOO!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, proud of myself. Finally, I could relax, taking in a well deserved breath.

"Hell, yeah!" Jay screamed pleased. "Told you kiddo! Great job! Only two more rings to go and you're done!"

"Just give me a minute to catch my breath" I pleaded, which Jay chuckled to and felt him pull in the rope, securing me in place. And then, I let go.

"Tell me when you're ready" he yelled back and I just waved my hand without saying a word, signaling him an OK.

Suspended in air by my static rope securely knotted on my harness, I could fully admire the breathtaking view. The air at this height was colder and it sort of hurt my throat if I breathed it in too quickly; but the pure, clean sensation was worth it.

The scents of fresh pine trees and ocean filled my nostrils, adding a perfect touch to the exquisite landscape. All I could see were purple and blue mountains covered with snow, gray and white clouds, trees and more trees in different shades of green, this place was unbelievable.

Hey, I could even hear the birds chirping happily and the wind howling in unison. I just loved it here.

"Al right! Climbing!" I called out to Jay and felt the rope loosen.

I began to climb once again, feeling the confidence flow freely through my limbs. I was almost near the next ring, my right hand already grabbing a new quick-draw from my harness.

_Just a few inches more Kristen._ When…

"WHOA!!! CHECK THAT OUT!!!" A voice I've never heard before erupted somewhere close to us, causing me to freeze my movement. For a fraction of a second, I wondered _who that was_ and my eyes hesitated on looking down and satisfying my curiosity. And then…

I slipped.

"_Shit, Jay!!!!_" I heard myself scream as I fell at top speed. My hands instinctively tried to find somewhere to secure myself, but it was hopeless. I felt my skin getting scratched, my short nails ripping painfully, but I couldn't stop myself from falling.

"Quick! QUICK! THE ROPE!!" Catherine yelled.

Jay gasped loudly and I felt the rope tighten, locking it in the last quick-draw, stopping me from falling all the way down; and in that exact instant, the air was knocked out of me in a loud swoosh.

WHAM! I felt my right wrist smack hard against the wall, and an immediate pain ran from my fingers all the way to my shoulder blade, literally making me see stars. I let out a loud cry of pain.

_Ow, ow, ow.! _

_Ugh, Please don't let it be broken._

"Kris… You ok?" Jay's worried voice echoed from below.

"Yeah… it's my wrist. I-I think it's broken!" I managed to choke out between tears.

"Ok. I'm lowering you down. Just place both your feet at the height of your waist on the wall so you avoid crashing into it" Jay's voice was concerned.

I felt my weight pulling me down. My feet at the wall, pushing my body away from it, my left hand securing my right wrist tightly against my chest. The slightest movement sent me chills of pain down my spine.

_Stupid stranger's voice _I glowered pissed off.

_WHO THE HELL YELLS 'WHOA, CHECK THAT OUT' IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMEBODY'S CLIMB!?!?!?!?! _ I clenched my teeth as my wrist gave another painful jolt.

_Oh, he is SO going to pay! _I fumed as I continued to come down.

"Hey, man. I'm so sorry. Will she be alright? I didn't know she would…" The stranger's voice was pleading, his tone with a hit of apprehension.

"Nice going Jake. You totally got her distracted" a second voice teased "Well, you cant say you don't make'em fall for you, anymore" the boy said mockingly.

"Shut up, man!" the first boy snapped at his friend. "I- I seriously didn't mean to…-"

"It was an accident" Catherine's voice reassured them both.

Once near the ground, I shot a deadly glare to my side, finally meeting the reason of my distraction. Standing near Catherine, were two Native American boys, whom looked just around my age. Both of them had beautiful coppery-brown skin; straight, long, black hair and really kind faces.

The closest one to me was tall and lean, wearing a blue hoddie, black dirty jeans and a gray beany. His eyes and face were so full of anxiety, that my deadly glare softened into a scowl. He continued to hesitate as if to walk closer or stay on his place. So, taking in he's reaction, I sort of guessed that HE was Jake.

The other boy was medium not as tall as the first one, and he was standing a couple of steps behind his friend. He wore a pair of old jeans, a red-worn out jacket and boots. His face wasn't as concerned as his friend. But, all the same, he did look a bit worried.

"Hey, I'm really, really sorry…" I heard the first boy call at me, hesitating in coming closer or not, but finally, taking four long steps towards me, closing the distance between us; and providing me with a better view of him.

His thick brows were pulled together in a worried expression, his lips in thin line, and, there was so much anguish on his dark eyes, that I suddenly felt ashamed for blaming him for my fall. My scowl softened once more into a curios look.

"It's just my wrist. Don't worry" I said, once I was standing safely on the floor, meeting his gaze. I gave him a wry smile in reassurance and hope that he would erase that fret from his face. I just couldn't bare the expression of guilt he had plastered all over him, it was simply killing me.

Suddenly, I had the urge to _make him feel better._

_Well, technically Kristen, it was your fault for slipping. You know better!_My brain shouted at me but I ignored it, and threw him another goofy grin and walked past him and toward Jay.

Jay helped me take off my harness and then checked my wrist. "Yep, it's broken kiddo. We're gonna need to take you to the doctor". His expression was calm.

_It's nothing to worry about. _

"Guess you won't be able to rock climb for a while" He spoke again.

_DAMN IT!!!_I groaned loudly again, which Jake immediately dropped his gaze to the floor and stared at his shoes.

"But, the competition…" I began, frustrated.

"Yep. I know. Sorry kid." Jay's eyes tighten.

We had been training so hard for it, and it was just a couple of weeks away. One lousy mistake, it's all it took. _Oh Man!_

"It's swelling up, we better get you to the nearest hospital" Catherine took a glance to my wrist and began packing up all the gear.

"Hey, we live down at La Push reservation just 2 minutes away from here. There's a hospital not far. We can take her there…" Jake's voice was full of eagerness to help out. "Our car is pretty close"

"Ok. Thanks, man! Sounds great. Ours is 15 minute-walk from here. Let's go" Jay said, and began helping Cathy pack up our gear.

"Quil? Could you please get the car?" Jake threw the keys to his friend.

"On it!" Quil caught them and disappeared from view.

"Can you walk?" Cathy eyed me as she fastened her pack to her back. I nodded. "Ok, let's go, hon." She threw me a small smile and took the horrible helmet off my head. I threw it a glare.

"Hey, it's a good thing you were wearing it. Better your wrist than your head" she tipped her head and turned around to catch up with Jay.

"Ugh! Mom isn't going to like this. She's going to freak out" I sighed mostly to myself.

Mom wasn't too happy with our choice of extreme sports, that's all I can say. It became rather obvious every time we went climbing or hiking.

_Great. _I looked down at my backpack that was lying innocently under my feet.

_How the hell was I going to carry it like this?_

"Here… let me help you" Jake hesitated a bit before picking it and strapped it over his right shoulder. His dark eyes looked straight into mine for the first time. I felt myself blush a bit and looked away, embarrassed.

"Hey, I'm really, really sorry about all of this…" He pressed on as we walked together.

"Well, it wasn't entirely your fault… I should have known better" I shook my head to emphasize my statement, but flinched once the movement caused me pain. Jake flinched too and his hands instinctively moved towards me as if he was about to touch me or something, but I guessed he realized what he almost did, and quickly placed them inside the pockets of his jeans.

I suppressed a smile.

"Hey, I'm Kristen by the way" I told Jake, trying to distract him.

"Jacob. Jacob Black" he answered absently. _Still worried._

"Well, it's nice to meet you Jacob-Jacob Black" I said in a polite way, looking at him. "I apologize for my rudeness in not shaking your hand, like any other civilized person would, but, well… you know, broken wrist and everything" I giggled.

Jake looked at me, his expression shocked while I continued to laugh. Then, he took in my humor and began laughing with me. His whole frame relaxed and I sighed in relief. I saw Cathy and Jay look at us with a puzzled face and then smiled.

"Guess Kris has a new friend" Cathy whispered to Jay, who laughed quietly.

"Nah, don't worry… You'll find a way to make it up to me!" He smiled cockily.

"Excuse me?" my tone became mocking "Why in the world would I make it up to YOU?" I giggled even louder.

"Because you've hurt my feelings, that's why. Dad always told me that when you meet someone, you should shake their hand. It's the polite thing to do." He chuckled, his eyes sparkling.

God, he had such a beautiful smile.

"Oh. I see. And did he also say that it wasn't _polite_ to scream: 'Whoa! Check that out!' while somebody rock climbed? Hmm?" I shot him an accusing glance and then smiled.

"He might have mentioned it" he chortled "But, I guess I didn't pay THAT much of attention. That is how I usually get into trouble." His shoulders shook while he laughed nonchalantly.

"But still, my feelings are hurt" he placed his hand on his heart with a dramatic expression. Jacob was such a character; I felt relaxed around him.

"You are just trying to make me feel guilty so I would forget that you were the reason I fell in the first place, huh?" I shook my head.

"Is it working?" He shot me a hopeful look and smiled.

"Not really." I chuckled and he sighed, pretending to be frustrated.

Jacob was really funny. I was beginning to like this boy's company. I totally forgot that my wrist was in pain. Well, until we made it to his car and I got in. I guess I moved a little to fast, I flinched as an involuntary groan escaped my lips.

"I'm sorry" Jake whispered again.

Once we were all inside his truck, he drove really fast to La Push. I've never been to this place before. I liked it. It seemed peaceful and calm. There weren't many buildings, just a few stores and houses. I guessed we've made it to the hospital, since Jake began to slow down.

"This way" He opened my door and helped me out. He was by my side, leading the way. Catherine, Jay and Quil walked behind us.

"Excuse me, is Dr. Walsh available?" Jake asked once inside the small hospital.

"Yes, honey. But he's in with a patient. He won't take long. What's your emergency?" the nurse asked nicely.

"My friend broke her wrist and she's in a lot of pain right now. Isn't there anything we can do to ease her pain?" Jake told the nurse in guard, his tone was in a hurry.

He called me his _friend. _I barely knew him and he called me his friend. It felt nice. I smiled.

"I'll see what I can do. Wait here." She said and went trough a white door.

"Sit down, Kris" Catherine helped me sit down next to her. I hated being treated as if I was breakable. It was just my wrist. I didn't know why everyone was making such a great deal out of it. Ok, well, it did hurt. _A lot, actually._ But, still, I didn't get it.

"Can I get you some water?" Quil asked a bit embarrassed. He seemed as nice as Jake. It was the first time he spoke to me directly, he blushed.

"Mmm… no thanks. I'm good." I thanked him quietly.

"Are you hungry? Do you want me to get you something to eat? A granola bar?" Jake was on my side in an instant. I saw Cathy and Jay exchange amused looks to each other, and smiled. I shot them a glare.

"What?" Jay mouthed while he shrugged.

"I'm fine, guys, really." I said a bit annoyed.

"The Doctor will see you now" The nurse called kindly and pointed to the brown door, while it opened and the other patient came out.

"Come on" Cathy said while getting up and taking me carefully by the shoulders. Jake got to my side and then hesitated for a second "I-I'll wait outside, ok." I smiled at him. Catherine gave me a wink and I blushed. We walked inside the small office and closed the door behind us.

* * *

Half an hour later, I came out of the hospital with a brace on my right hand. _Unbelievable, I couldn't rock climb for nearly 6 months!!_ 3 months with the brace and 3 months until I regain enough strength so I could _try_ and climb again. _Great! Just great!_

"Oh man, I'm so sorry Kris" Jake apologize for the hundredth time. "It's fine, Jake." I reassured him.

Quil excused himself, and said goodbye. We thanked him for his help.

Jake drove us all the way to our car and insisted on accompanying us to our Aunt's house. He wanted to explain to Mom and Dad that the accident was entirely his fault, so I wouldn't get into trouble. I told him it wasn't necessary, but of course, he didn't listen and followed us anyways.

"I think Kristen has gotten herself an admirer" Catherine mocked me. I rolled my eyes.

"He doesn't have to do that, you know" I sighed. "Yep, but he's going to, anyways" Catherine laughed.

Jay pulled the car into Aunt Lily's drive way. And Jake parked his truck behind us. We got out of the car.

"You guys are related to Lily Evans?" Jake's voice was surprised.

"Yeah, she's our aunt. My Dad is her brother" I looked at him curios. "Why? Do you know her?" I asked.

"Yep. She's a real close friend of my Dad's. And I'm pretty sure your Dad knows mine as well" He smiled delighted.

We walked inside the house. My parents and my Aunt were at the living room, talking and drinking some coffee.

"We're here!" I called out. They looked at us and then at my brace.

"Kristen… What happened, honey? You ok?" Mom got up and walked to my side, her face worried.

"I'm fine Mom, it was a little accident. Nothing serious" I tried to calm her down.

"Nothing serious? You have a brace for Christ sake! Is it broken?" Her tone preoccupied. She sounded like such a mom.

"Yeah. I won't be able to climb for 6 months" I grimaced.

"I'm so sorry honey" she hugged me sweetly and kissed me on the cheek. "I told you that it was dangerous" I rolled my eyes. My dad shot me an encouragingly look. I smiled.

"Jacob! Didn't see you back there! Come in, honey" Aunt Lily spoke out loud. My mom and dad looked at Jake. He immediately blushed.

"Jacob!? Jacob Black?! Is that really you?!" My dad asked surprised.

"Hello Mr. Evans" He smiled at him and went to shake his hand.

"Honey, this is Jacob, the son of Billy Black" Dad explained to Mom.

"Hello there, dear" she shook his hand. Jake smiled at her.

"How's Billy?" Dad asked excitedly. "I was thinking of calling to see if I could pay him a visit tomorrow. It's been a while since I've seen him"

"He's great. Oh, he would totally love it if you came over…" Jake smiled even wider.

"Jacob? How do you know my nieces?" Aunt Lily asked all of a sudden. Jake blushed.

"Well…" he began but, I cut him off.

"He was there when I fell. He was kind enough to drive us to the hospital at LA PUSH. Our car was pretty far away. If it wasn't for Jacob, my wrist would have gotten even worse. Right Cathy?" I looked at him with a smile on my lips. He shot me a 'what was that?' look and shook his head.

"Yeah. Jake was such a gentleman." She giggled. Jake blushed even deeper. I suppressed a laugh.

"Well, thank you very much Jacob. We owe you one" Mom smiled thankfully to Jake.

"It was nothing" He mumbled and shot me a glare, I pretended not to notice.

"Well, I better get going. Billy might be wondering where I am. I'll tell him to expect your call Mr. Evans. Bye Lily. It was nice meeting you all. Bye Kris" he slightly bowed his head and walk towards the door.

"Jake… wait" I called out and followed him. I heard Catherine giggled. And everyone in the room began to talk excitedly. _Typical. You meet someone new, a boy, for that matter, and everybody wants you to marry him._

"Jake!" I called stopping at the door, he was already on the steps of the porch. He spun around to look at me. A small smile building in the corner of his lips.

"Yeah?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Hey, umm… are you doing anything tomorrow?" _Ok, Kristen. You totally sound like a guy._

"Not really. Why? You finally found out a way to make it up to me?" His tone teasing, his arms folding across his chest. I couldn't help but smile.

"I was wondering if we could like, hang out. We were planning on climbing all week, but, since I can't anymore…" I sighed.

"Sure. Sure" He finally smiled broadly. "I'll call you tomorrow to make plans" He waved goodbye and got into his truck. I saw him drive away and then went inside the house with a huge smile on my face.

On dinner time, I had to put up with all the mocking smiles and exchanging looks between my family. I pretended to ignore them and ate as fast as I could. All I wanted to do was to go hide in my room. I wasn't in the mood for their inside jokes at my expense. So, I excused myself and went straight to the stairs. Then, the phone rang. I stopped on my tracks.

"Ok… I'll pass on the message. Good night Jacob" Aunt Lily's tone was polite. "It was Jacob. Billy invited all of us to a barbecue at his house tomorrow at 5" She yelled loud enough for me to hear. I smiled and ran to my room.

_Tomorrow aint gonna be such a bad day, after all._

I smiled and hopped on my bed, trying to fall asleep.

_- - -_

The next day, I woke up with real high spirits. I helped Aunt Lily prepare her 'amazing butter and garlic mashed potatoes'. Well, tried, actually. Being one-handed didn't come in handy after all._ Haha, I made a funny. Yep, I know, I know, lame joke._ So I just moved around the kitchen and passed some of the ingredients that weren't too heavy. And decided that it was better if I just moved out of the way.

"Hey, Kris! I'm going to the store. Wanna come?" Cathy yelled at the door. And I called Aunt Lily goodbye and left with Cathy.

Cathy kept looking at me weirdly and smiling to herself. "Cut it out, Cath" I said annoyed. She continued to giggle.

Once back at the house, it was just a matter of time to have everything ready and make our way to The Black's. I was really happy I would see Jake again. _Kristen, cut it out._

We finally got to Jake's house. It was a small wooden house, red paint washed away by the rain. Big windows and a wide door. A garage was next to the house. Jake's red Chevy parked in the drive way. Aunt Lily parked her car next to the Chevy and called out "We're here!"

Jake came out with a huge smile on his face and greeted all of us excitedly. "Hey, glad you could make it!" He said, while helping me out of the car.

"Thanks for the invitation" I smile back.

"Joe! How pleasant to see you!" a man in a wheelchair called happily. Dad went to greet his old fried. He gave him a brotherly hug. "It's been a long time, Billy" Dad smiled. "You remember my wife, Delia?" he looked towards Mom.

"Of course. You look as lovely as ever, my dear" he kissed her hand, Mom giggled.

"Hey Billy, how's it going?" Aunt Lily called out.

"Hey, Lils. Great, great. Come right in" Billy called out.

"Billy, these are my two daughters: Catherine and Kristen. This is Jay, Cathy's boyfriend". Dad glanced towards us.

"Nice to meet you" Cath and I said, smiling at him. He had exactly the same rich russet skin as Jake. His face had a few age lines, and when he smiled, you could see them more easily. His hair was long and turning a bit grayish. He had the same kind face as his son. His gaze was rather intimidating though.

"So… you're Kristen. Jake hasn't shut up about you since yesterday" He smiled and I blushed.

"Thanks, Dad" Jake blushed too and shot him a glare.

"Well, it's true" Billy chuckled and Dad laughed with him.

"Now, now, you two. Leave the kids alone" Aunt Lily got us off the hook. "Jake, why don't you show Kristen around?" She said sweetly.

"Sure, come on" Jake smiled, relieved and I shot her a thankful look. Aunt Lily winked at me.

We got out of the house as fast as we could. I hear a couple of laughs and shook my head annoyed.

"Can you believe them?" I blushed.

"I know" He shook his head in disbelief.

We walked around not looking where we were going. I heard the swift noise of a stream near by. I looked around and noticed that there were lots and lots of trees behind Jake's house.

"Whoa, you have an entire forest as your back yard Jake!" I exclaimed surprised. "I totally envy you. It's so beautiful"

"Well, thanks. I think" He chuckled.

"It must be wonderful to be surrounded by nature all the time. It seems so relaxing and calm here" I took a breath of cold air, it filled my lungs. The scents were mostly of pine trees and wild flowers. Jake looked at me with a strange expression in his eyes.

"You don't have a lot of trees where you live, right?" He mused and I felt my cheeks turn scarlet.

"Not like this, I mean, we do have parks in San Diego. But, it's more like buildings, beaches, sunny days and hot weather. I like it here" I shrugged.

We began walking through the woods, we didn't say anything for a while. I felt Jake's gaze on my face, but I didn't let that intimidate me. I just gave myself a chance to take in all the natural beauty of this place. Everything was completely green; there were so many trees, wild flowers and leaves all over the place. It was like a fairy tale. I was expecting to see fairies and elves and unicorns, I smiled to myself. This place was unbelievable.

"So… how long are you staying?" Jake asked all of a sudden.

"Um, we leave on Monday. We were thinking of staying longer, but Dad got a call from work last night, and he has to be back as soon as possible" I sighed.

"That sucks…" Jake sighed too.

"Yeah, well…" I didn't understand why I felt sad.

_Was the thought of not being able to see this boy upsetting me? Wow, that's new!_

"Hey, promise me you'll write once in a while" Jake smiled at me.

"Ok. I promise. I'll even call you" I laughed looking at him. "Will you write and call back?" I asked.

"Maybe…" he teased. I raised my brow questioningly.

"Well, my feelings are still hurt. It will take some time to be my normal, happy self again" He placed his hand on his chest again, I rolled my eyes and sighed annoyed.

"Of course I'll write and call you!" He looked at me. He forgot to add _Duh!_

"Ok. Then, it's a deal" I smiled.

"Yeah, let's shake on it" Jake said stretching his hand and looking at me as if expecting something. I stared at him, an annoyed look on my face. "Oh, yeah! Your hand. Sorry" he blushed and I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Pinkie promise" I held out my left pinkie, he looked at it and muttered something that sounded like 'such a girl' but pinkie-promised anyway.

"Come on, let's go. I'm starving" Jake pat me softly on my left shoulder and we made our way back to his house.

- - - - - - -

The next following days, I spent them at La Push with Jake and his friends Quil and Embry. We went to First Beach to the bone fires at sunset and we just hung out. I really liked their company. They were so goofy and silly, I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt. I felt as if I've known them all my life. It was great.

My last day at Forks finally came. We were leaving to the airport in less than an hour and I felt really sad. I was sitting outside on the stairs of the porch, staring at space, moping a bit, actually. Nothing seemed to cheer me up at all. And then, I saw a red Chevy parking on the drive way.

"Jake" I smiled, feeling happy all of a sudden.

He got out of his car, a beautiful smile on his face. "Hey!

"Hey!" I called back, and walked towards him.

"Could we take a little walk? Not far. I-I need to tell you something" He hesitated. He seemed really nervous about something.

"Sure… Mom! I'll be right back" I called out, feeling a little anxious my self.

"Ok. But, hurry up! We leave in 20" She called back.

We began walking to the back Aunt Lily's house, there too, was a huge forest in the back. We didn't walk far, just enough to have some privacy.

"You didn't think I would let you leave without me saying goodbye, did you?" He suddenly stopped, staring intently on my face. There was an amused expression on his.

'The thought crossed my mind" I frowned, looking accusingly at him. He dropped his gaze and he ran his hand through his hair, a bit nervously.

"Sorry, it's just that, I-I lost track of time. I was working on something" He stuttered.

"Oh? On what?" I asked curious now.

"On this. I-I wanted to give you something to remember your time down at LA PUSH" he blushed and opened his hand. He had a beautiful brown hand-made bracelet with a black-round stone in the middle. "It's a friendship bracelet. I-I made it for you" He dropped his gaze again, turning completely scarlet.

"Wow, Jake. It-its amazing. Thank you" My face, too, grew incredibly hot. "Can you please help me put it on?"

"Sure… You, you really like it?" he asked pleased while he placed the bracelet on my left wrist.

"Yes, totally loved it" I smiled. "Oh, can I ask you another favor? Could you sign my cast? It would be like a souvenir" I gave him a sharpie and he gladly wrote something on it. He laughed once he finished"

What does it say?" I asked curious again.

"It says: Kris, sorry I made you fall. Glad I got a chance to meet you. Hope to see you around here soon. Jake" He looked straight at my eyes, but I couldn't hold my gaze, so I looked away.

"Thanks Jake" I whispered softly, embarrassed even more.

"Kristen? Oh, hello there Jacob…"Mom's voice came from the window, "Honey, it's almost time to go. You've got all your stuff?"

"Yeah, it's in the car" I answered, not looking at her. _So much for privacy._ "Ok. Hey, Jake, tell Billy we say bye, alright?" Mom called out again and left the window.

I sighed again. "This sucks…" I complained.

"Tell me about it…" Jake dropped his gaze and kicked a small rock with his shoe.

"Hey Jake? Listen, it was really great meeting you. I had a lot of fun" I began to turn pink, he looked up at me, smiling. "Thank you for everything. Yep, even for making me fall." I winked playfully at the last part. "Oh. It totally sucks that I don't have anything to give you" I complained and then sighed.

"Don't worry…" Jake shook his head "You don't have to…

"Hey, wait!" I had an idea. I was wearing my favorite pair of earrings, each had a single blue feather. Jake stared at me puzzled as I took one off. I noticed that he had a thin braid behind his left ear. "May I?" I asked pointing to the braid. He nodded, his beautiful face still confused. I gently pulled the braid from behind his ear and hooked the earring at the end of the braid, where there was a small rubber band fasting it.

"There" I smiled.

He looked at me for a few seconds, his expression blank and then, he smiled stunningly. He placed his braid between his fingers and inspected the blue accessory dangling from it.

"Wow. It looks great! Thanks Kris" I couldn't help but smile back. It was such a contagious gesture when I was around him.

"Kristen! Time to go!" Cathy called out. My heart sank. _No!_

"I guess that's my cue, then. Umm… so, send me an email or something once you get home. I-I mean, if you want to…" His eyes became sad, his forehead creasing.

"I will" I promised, my voice sadden also.

"And, next time you're in town, give me a call. Alright?" He smiled.

"I promise" I held out my left hand and he took it. I gave it a gentle squeeze and he squeezed it back.

"Bye Jake" I whispered and without thinking about it, quickly kissed his cheek and ran to the car without looking at him.

_Oh my God. Did I j__ust kiss him?_

Once in the car, I looked through the window and found Jake staring at me with a huge breathtaking smile across his lips. He waved a couple of times and then got into his car. We drove away, leaving him behind.

I sighed, saddened and happy at the same time. Cathy placed her arm around my shoulders as a comfort gesture and smiled at me. I closed me eyes and hoped I could just fall asleep all the way through the flight back home.

I came back home with a brace, a beautiful bracelet and a new friend. I smiled to myself, what a great week.

(END OF FLASHBACK)

* * *

Ever since then, Jake and I have been in constant communication. We continued to write to each other and called once in a while. Heck, we even sent Christmas cards and presents on our birthdays. It was nice to have a friend like Jake. I really missed seeing him though. I haven't been back to Forks ever since and he kept asking when I was coming over.

I sort of backed away a little after what happened to Mom and Dad. I didn't write as frequent and didn't call either. He became really worried; he didn't stop calling or writing, though. One time, he even threatened on flying all the way from Washington to come and kick my butt. I knew he couldn't afford it, but knowing Jake, he was capable of finding a way.

I smiled. He was going to be so thrilled once he found out I was flying over there, finally. I wanted to surprise him. And, then I remembered Aunt Lily. _Hope she doesn't tell Billy about my vacation. It will totally ruin the surprise!_

I got up, turned my lap-top on and wrote my Aunt an email asking her to PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! not to say a word to Billy.

_I will go tomorrow straight after school to buy my plane ticket._ I smiled to myself. Finally, I was able to fall asleep. I dreamt of a beach, a bonfire, a full moon and a boy with wonderful smile swiftly pulling a lock of my hair.

* * *

**A/N:** This is how Kristen and Jake met -I love them dearly- In the next chapter, they finally reunite after two long years.

**Please review :) It makes me smile like an idiot the rest of the day**

** *hearts you*  
**


	4. Oh! and by the way Im in Town

"**Oh! And by the way… I'm in Town"**

"Kristen" Aunt Lily's voice was soft and happy. "Welcome. How was your flight, dear?" She held me in a maternal hug. I missed being hugged like that.

"Good. It was good, thanks" I smiled and hugged her back. She helped me grab my suit case while I strapped on my back-pack and headed towards the parking lot.

We placed my stuff in her Trooper and got inside as soon as possible. It was really cold and wet, my whole body felt totally numb. Aunt Lily turned the heat on and I felt my muscles began to relax. She smiled. "Better?" she asked, I nodded, thanking her.

After a five-hour long drive, we finally made it to Forks, it was near 9pm and it was dark and rainy. I recognized the silhouette of the house, though I couldn't see much.

"Quickly, come on" Aunt Lily called as we ran to the porch. I was soaked in seconds. "Welcome to rainy Forks" She chimed as I took off my shoes and noticed that my socks were dripping wet, like the rest of my clothing.

"You better get used to it honey, it's always wet this time a year" She winked at me and I made a face. _So much for sunny days and warm nights. Still, I liked it._

"Ok, so your room is upstairs. Everything is settled. There is an extra set of covers in the closet, in case you think it gets too cold" She spoke, walking up the stairs, carrying my backpack, I followed her. It felt really familiar to walk up these stairs, it felt as if I was home, something I wasn't expecting.

"Oh, it's so great to have you here, Kristen" She walked towards me and hugged me tightly.

"I'm happy I came too. Thank you for having me" I kissed her cheek.

"Well, I'll let you unpack. There is always hot water in this house. Winter gets pretty cold and there's nothing better than a hot bath. I'll leave you to it then" She began to walk to the door.

"Oh, I thought you might want to call Jacob. There is a phone next to the computer in the work desk over there" She nodded to the small table next to my bed.

"Thanks Aunt Lily" I smiled. "Any time, dear. Good night" and she left the room, humming tunelessly.

After unpacking all my belongings and placing them on the drawers and the closet, I took out my toiletries and headed for the bathroom, where I took a really long hot bath, trying to relax from all the body tension caused from flying, making connections and then driving home. I felt exhausted. Once out of the bath, I putted on my cozy pajamas and dried my hair, brushed my teeth and went back to my room.

I turned on the computer and wrote an email to Catherine to tell her that I was already in Forks, and that everything was cool, I didn't want her to worry. She might have, if I would have waited to write to her until tomorrow. I made it short and clear, told her that I would call her on Sunday. Then, I hesitated a bit, _Should I write to Jake? Maybe tomorrow… no, I think I'll write him a small email, nothing fancy… just to make sure he still thinks I'm at California. _In the mail, I told him that school was out, nothing much was happening and that everything was boring and dull. I gave it send and smiled to myself. _I'm calling him tomorrow._ I smirked softly while tracing my bracelet with the index finger, _Wow, I can't believe I'm really here._ I sighed. I glancing towards the bed, which looked really comfy and warm and decided that it was time for some ZZZZZ. I hopped onto it, pulled the covers and closed my eyes.

_Tomorrow I will see him._

- - - - - - - - -

I woke up to the delicious smell of coffee and cinnamon freshly brewed. I glanced at the alarm clock next to my bed and saw that it was 7a.m. My eyes felt sandy, and I was still very sleepy, and then, it hit me: _Wow! No nightmares. _I quickly tried to remember what I dreamt, but, I was blank. A dreamless dream, I supposed. I smiled a tiny smile of satisfaction.

I wanted to stay in bed so badly, but then realized that it wasn't polite to sleep in when you were a guest, well, at least Mom used to think so. I groaned a little, got out of the warm quilts and putted on slippers and headed to the bathroom and washed my face. I tried to fix my untidy mess of curls, pulling them into a pony tail and went downstairs. I heard the radio as background, it sounded like… _country? What gives?_ I chuckled darkly. I didn't know that Aunt Lily liked country. That was new…. I mean, it didn't bother me or anything, but, I wasn't expecting it either… _huh._

"Hey there, kiddo. Did you get a good night sleep?" She asked, eyeing me while sipping a gulp from her cup. "I know you don't drink coffee. Would you like some hot cocoa, instead?" She smiled warmly and I nodded with a smile

"Yeah, thanks". I felt like I was 10 again. I felt spoiled by my aunt. It really felt nice.

We had a nice quiet breakfast. Aunt lily asked me about my plans and I told her that I wanted to meet with Jake, which made her smile broadly. My cheeks turned pink and I looked away, pretending to clear the table.

"Ok. So, I better go change. I have a meeting at nine and I don't want to be late" She said glancing at the clock on the wall "Promise we'll do something on Saturday, just us girls" she winked at me and I smiled back.

After 10 minutes, she came out of her room looking stunning "Oh, before I forget. Here are the keys to Jeep so you can go over and surprise Jake" She said while placing a set of keys on the table, she took a glance on the mirror in front of the sofa and put on some lipstick.

_Aunt Lily was really beautiful. _

"But… that's Uncle Steve's jeep… I-I can't…" I began, but she cut me off.

"Oh, don't be silly, dear. That thing has been parked in that garage for almost 2 years. It will be a miracle if it still works. Come on, it needs it." She finished and kissed me on the cheek.

"I'll come back around three, I will bring some Chinese food so we can eat together. If you get way too hungry to wait for me, there is some lasagna in the fridge" She called out while grabbing her purse and heading for the door. "Make yourself at home, honey. Say hi to the Blacks for me" and she left, closing the entrance door behind her.

I stared at the door she went through. _Huh… I was sort of worried I was going to have to look for a way to get some alone time. Wow. That was easy._ I was beginning to like Aunt Lily even more, she always seemed to understand the need of privacy.

I quickly ran upstairs and changed out of my pjs and into something more presentable, and re-arranged my hair with my fingers for the second time. _Curly hair wasn't meant for combing. You ended up looking like the Lion King if you tried. _I put on my boots and a scarf, grabbed the keys and made my way to the garage.

And there it was, the black Jeep.

I hesitated a bit before opening the door. But once in the driver's seat and the keys in the ignition, it felt right. I turned it on, and the Jeep roared to life. It was a powerful sound. You could tell that Uncle Steve took really good care of his Jeep. Everything was in top shape. Even the sound system was great.

I pulled out of the drive way and headed to La Push. While driving, I turned on the radio and used the music as a back ground. I was admiring how green and beautiful Forks looked. Everything was completely wet and covered with green leaves, bushes, plants, pine trees and more pine trees, and other kind of trees that I don't remember their names.

And after nearly 15 min I was in La Push. It looked exactly as last time I've been here. I felt my stomach lurch in excitement and giggled like a little girl.

_What is wrong with me?_ I was happy.

I parked near Jake's house, but, still out of view. I didn't want to spoil the surprise by him spotting me through the window. I took out my cell phone, took a deep breath and dialed his number. After the third ring, someone picked up the phone.

I heard an annoyed sigh. "Hello?" a husky, groggy voice answered.

"Hey there, sunshine! Don't tell me you're still asleep." I said nonchalantly.

"Kristen? Hey…" I heard him yawn "what are you doing up so early?" He chuckled. "It's nearly 5:30 over there, isn't it?"

_Damn, I totally forgot of the time difference between California and Washington._

"Yeah, well. I guess I couldn't sleep" I sighed. I suppressed a laugh. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. I was pink.

"Another nightmare?" His tone became concerned, he knew me too well. I didn't want him to worry in vane.

"No. No, No nightmares this time…" I shook my head, I sighed relieved, which I actually meant it. "Actually… I was just thinking about the promise I made you the last time I was here" I suppressed a laugh, I felt butterflies in my stomach and my heart throbbing against my ribcage. I wanted to scream with joy.

"Oh? ... What about it?" He chuckled again and suddenly stopped. "Wait. Did you just…"

I counted until three in my head. And then, I heard him gasp. "No way!!! …"

"I have to go Jake, I'm meeting an old friend of mine in a few… Bye" I laughed out loud, thrilled with excitement. I didn't wait for him to say anything more and hung up on him.

I felt my heart drumming in my ears and I could barely keep my hands still in the steering wheel. I guess I was nervous and excited and happy and everything at the same time.

I was almost at his drive way when I saw him running out of his house towards the Jeep. He had 'just woke up' face, his hair all messy and a huge grin. I smiled back at him. My stomach churned and I swallow loudly, trying to control my nerves. I hopped out of the Jeep without bothering to turn it off and suddenly, my feet didn't touch the ground anymore. I was spinning in a tight embrace, all I could see was a curtain of black hair

"I cant believe you are here! You are really here!" I heard his husky voice filled with excitement, his cheerful laugh booming in my ear. I couldn't help but laugh loudly too.

"Jake. I've missed you so much!" I hugged him back as hard as I could, I haven't felt this happy in a really long time.

"Jake… Jake!!! I'm getting dizzy… please, please stop spinning…" I managed to choke out, my eyes shut really tight. _Motion sickness, great!. _I heard him chuckle amused and stopped, placing me swiftly on the ground, but still locked in a tight bear hug of his.

"Why didn't you tell me anything?" He complained, looking down at me; his expression was a mixture of annoyance and musing.

"I-I didn't want to spoil the surprise" I giggled. "You have no idea how much I had to struggle on not calling and telling you I was coming over…" I shook my head, he gave me a reproachful look, but then, smirked. I squirmed out of his embrace and took a small step back so I could see him better. He had a pair of sweats and a gray hoodie. His eyes were puffy and he had a thin trail of drool near his mouth. He looked so adorable.

"You look great!" I giggled.

"Hey… I just woke up!" He said on his defense. "If I knew you were coming, I would have at least taken a shower" his hands trying to fix his messy hair. I rolled my eyes.

"Did you just wake up, too? You look a mess" He teased, tussling my hair with his big hand. I smacked it away quickly and he laughed.

"Well, I took a shower last night, actually. And, my hair is always like this. But… at least, I did wash my face. You don't see any drool trail on mine" My eyebrow rose and my tone went smug. He immediately placed his hand on the corner of his mouth and rubbed his finger against it.

"Sorry" He chuckled. Man, it was really great seeing Jacob again, I hadn't noticed how much I've missed him.

"Hey, you are probably gonna ran out of gas. You should turn off the engine". He glanced towards the Jeep, chuckling.

"Oh. Right… On it" I went inside and stopped the roaring sound, placing the keys inside my jacket.

I heard Jake give a whistle in admiration "Looks like Steve's Jeep is still in great shape. Just a little coat of paint and it will be as good as new. I rebuilt the engine for him… before, you know…" He sighed as if avoiding the subject, I just nodded. "A total beauty…" he eyed it as if it was a work of art. Jacob was really fascinated by cars. I've heard he's a great mechanic, too.

"Yeah. I totally love this Jeep. It's so… powerful. Aunt Lily insisted on me driving it. I couldn't say no to her… It felt weird, though" I smiled wryly and he tussled my hair again.

"I still cant believe you are really here!" he teased and I tried to get away from his hands that kept pulling locks of my hair. A streaming roar erupted from the gray sky "Uh-oh" I heard Jake say loudly; and out of nowhere, it began to rain really hard and I groaned, annoyed.

He chuckled at my reaction as I covered my head with my hands. "Come on!" Jake mused, and took my hand, making me run towards his house that for some reason, seemed a little far away; as we ran, we laughed loudly and skipped the puddles until we finally reached for shelter.

"Oh, my God! I hadn't had this much fun skipping puddles since I was seven" I was amazed at how good it felt to laugh like that; the feeling was amazing, it set me free.

"If you like the rain, you are going to love the snow"

"No, Jake! No snow fights!" I giggled and he rolled his eyes. I began to shiver a bit, my hair was really soaked and my back began to hurt because of the cold.

"Let's get you inside before you catch a cold or something" He held the door to his house for me "Ladies first" he gestured, a crooked smile on his lips.

"Why, thank you" I said mockingly and I went through the small door, swiftly brushing past him; several sparks of electricity prickled in my skin and my cheeks grew a bit warm when I did, and I could swear I heard him catch his breath. Then he followed after me and closed the door in a low thump.

"You should take off your jacket, its really wet" Jake walked past me "I'll lend you a sweater or something" he chuckled.

"Not sure it would fit…" I grumbled and he smiled even wider.

"Ill find something of my sister's then" he shrugged "Now, take that off"

I did as I was told and took of the jacket, hanging it on a small hamper that was on the door, so it would dry up. Just a few seconds on the rain, and it was entirely wet. My hair was dripping wet and my feet felt cold.

Jake disappeared for a few seconds, and then came back with something in his hands.

"Here" he gave me a blue sweater that was rather big for me, probably HIS, but it was really warm, so I decided that it didn't matter and putted it on "I couldn't find anything…" He smirked at my appearance and so did I.

Jake's hair was as wet as mine, his hands ran trough it, trying to brush it away from his face. "What?" he asked once he noticed that I was staring at him.

"You're taller" I raised my eyebrow, my tone accusing as I pulled the sweater over my head.

"I've been eating my wheat-ies" he shook his head and began to take off his hoodie, which I guessed was soaked.

While he was doing so, I saw that his undershirt was pulled half way up his chest by the movement, exposing the really toned muscles of his abs and waist. My stomach gave a violent lurch; I held my breath, blushed and immediately looked away, pretending to be busy fixing my hair.

_Hope he didn't see me staring at him._ I blushed even deeper. I heard a low chuckle so I turned to look at him; he had a small pleased smile.

"Hey, you want some breakfast?" Jake asked, making his was to the small fridge, pulling down his shirt coolly and scratching his chin.

"Nope, thanks. I had some before coming here." I smiled, sitting in one of the two chairs that were next to the kitchen table. I began picking up the newspapers and magazines scattered across the table, and I piled them up in a stock.

Jake's house was really small. It had a particular smell between coffee and wood, it was nice. The kitchen and the living room were side by side. Down the small hall were three doors. Probably two small rooms and one tiny bathroom. It was warm and cozy, I felt right at home. You could easily tell that men lived here. Everything was out of place, but, at least, it wasn't dirty. I had a sudden urge to begin placing everything in order, but, fought it back.

Guess Jake read my mind. "Sorry about the mess… Again, we weren't expecting company" he gave me a reproachful look. I smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, hey. Where's Billy?" I suddenly remembered his dad. "Hope we didn't wake him up with all the noise" I shot a worried glance down the hall.

"Nah. Don't worry. He left really early today. He went fishing with Harry Clearwater. He's going to be out all day" he took a spoonful of cereal and shoved it into his mouth. "Sure you don't want some?"

"I'm good. Thanks" I answered, relieved. "So, have you been Jake? What's the word here in La Push?" I tried to sound carefree, cool.

"Not much. Everything is pretty much the same since the last time you were here" He shook his head and shoved another spoonful in his mouth. "School was a pain this semester. I'm telling you, calculus is driving me insane. I'm just not good with numbers" his eyebrows pulled together, an annoyed expression in his face.

"Hey, you can't be THAT bad…" I tried to sound polite, but he gave me a 'come on' look. "Ok, so, maybe you DO stink in calculus, but, hey, I could give you a hand if you need it" I offered.

"That would be great Kris. Thanks" he finished his bowl and placed it in the sink. "Hey, I'm going to take a shower. Meanwhile, you can watch t.v. or something. I'll be out in a few" he made his way to his room.

"Make yourself at home" He called out before shutting the door of the bathroom. Then, I heard the shower.

I grabbed the remote control and turned the tv on. There wasn't anything good. So I sighed and decided to wash the dishes that were on the sink. By the time Jake was out of the shower, the kitchen and the living groom were nice and tidy.

"I should invite you here more often" he chuckled and I rolled my eyes.

"I couldn't help it. Sorry" I giggled.

"You don't hear me complaining, do you? Hey, you should check out my room,…" he smiled broadly and sat down next to me in the sofa. "So, what are you watching?' he asked taking the remote from my hands and flipping through the channels.

"Nothing… Info-mercials. They totally suck" I giggled, making a bored face. He turned to look at me, his dark eyes meeting mine, holding them. The corner of his lips curved into an effort of a smile, but not completely. There was concern and worry in his face, I trembled slightly.

_Uh-oh._

"How are you, Kristen?" he asked softly, never leaving my eyes.

"Great" I hesitated a little and tried to smile, but, in spite of my effort, nothing came. I looked away from him. _Why did everyone kept asking me that question? _I knew he didn't buy it for a second. He bowed his head just a little, the curtain of black hair falling on his side and leaning closer to me. His eyes searched mine again, and found them this time.

He didn't say anything, he just reached for my hand and carefully kept it in his. The sensation felt nice, different, safe. I couldn't fool him with the answer I just gave him. I sighed again, and gulped.

"Breathing" I managed to choke out while closing my eyes, fighting back the tears that began building up in the corner of my eyes. _DON'T CRY. Please don't cry._

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there when you needed me…" his voice wasn't more than a whisper. I felt his thumb rubbing against the back of my hand, soothingly. "But you were in my thoughts every single day, honey"

"I know Jake" I opened my eyes again and looked down at my hand between his. His deep russet skin on my plain-pale white, it was a beautiful combination of colors. I smiled at the thought. The tendons and veins under his reddish-brown skin became more prominent with the slightest movement. I've never noticed that before. _How strange._

I shyly glanced back at his face, I felt my cheeks turn pink, but continued to look at him. His eyes smoldered and pierced into mine. There was a warm feeling spreading across my chest that I didn't recognized.

Jake had change so much in the last two years. His voice became huskier, his cheekbones sharper and his jaw had squared off. His face was as sweet as I remembered, but, much more mature. His deep dark eyes still had that spark of innocence and kindness in them when he smiled. But, he didn't look like teenage boy I met two years ago: too tall for his age with long, thin limbs. No. His frame was strong, his grip was firm, solid and there was something about the way he looked at me that made me blush and feel self-conscience.

"Kristen, I'm here for you. Always…" His whispered sweetly, still holding my gaze. I closed my eyes and nodded, a tear rolling down my cheek without me being able to stop it.

"Hey, hey… it's alright" he wiped my cheek carefully with his thumb, but, more tears broke free. He didn't say anything, he just continued wiping them away, soothingly.

I took a deep breath, trying to control the pain in my voice "I'm sorry I was such and idiot the past few months…" my eyes still closed, "It's just that it-it has been so… hard and I… couldn't… " My voice broke and I couldn't say another word.

"I know, honey. I know…" his gaze never left my face, even with my eyes closed, I could feel it, warming me up. "Come here" he slowly pulled me into his chest, and wrapped his arms around me, my head rested in his shoulder. I knew I should feel awkward to be _this _close to a boy, but with Jacob it felt like a natural thing; there was nothing to make me feel uncomfortable at all.

"I'm so glad you came" I heard the smile in his voice, and I slowly opened my eyes, pulling my head from his shoulder and looked at him. I nodded. "Me too. I really needed to see you" I smiled wryly.

"Ditto" the corner of his lips turned into a small smile.

I took in a deep breath and so did he.

"Hey, you still wear the bracelet I gave you" he traced his finger around it, maybe he was trying to change the subject. I took that as an invitation for a lighter subject, I laughed.

"I never take it off… it's my lucky charm. It brings me good luck" I winked at him, and he chuckled. A few minutes passed without us saying a word. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it was more like a private moment. He still held my hand and I had my eyes closed, my head resting in his shoulder. It was nice.

"So…" Jake's voice became loud again. "It's almost noon. We have all the day to ourselves. What do you want to do on a rainy and cold day like this?" his asked while standing up and pulling me off the sofa as well.

"Hmmm… I don't know. What can we do?" my tone light, making a doubtful face.

"How about we go to the beach?" his tone was excited.

"The beach?" I asked surprised by his choice. "But it's raining… there is no point on going to the beach if it's raining!" I complained and he shook his head.

"You are such a girl" he rolled his eyes."Ok. Then, Miss Smartie-pants. What do YOU suggest we do?" his tone teasing and cocky, his arms folded in his chest.

"Smartie-Pants?" I asked amused, raising my eyebrow. "Jake, have you been watching the Simpsons again?" my tone accusingly.

"And, if I have…?" he asked defiantly.

"Never mind…" I laughed, shaking my head. It was a battle I couldn't win.

"Your plan? What's your genius plan?" His cocked his head to the side and looked at me, mockingly.

"Well… we could… hang out at Aunt Lil's house. She's got a flat screen and cable, maybe watch a movie" It sounded more like a question than a statement. His face became serious for a moment. Then, a huge grin spread across his face "But what about the beach?" he whined.

"Jacob! We'll go tomorrow when it stops raining…" I sighed, annoyed.

"Fine. Let's go watch some boring movies instead…" he sighed and I rolled my eyes.

"Better write a note to Billy" he grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something and left it on the table. "Ok. Let's go"

We drove back to Aunt Lily's house in the Jeep. We were listening to a Linking Park cd of mine, which Jake seemed to enjoy. "Whoa, I didn't know you were into that kind of music" he mused and I chuckled.

"What do you thought I was into?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"I don't know" he shrugged. "Maybe something more girlish… like, Britney Spears or The Backstreet Boys or something" he howled with laughter._ What was I, twelve?_ I smacked his head, but that made it worse, he laughed even louder.

"Alright, alright… sorry. Geesh… You are such a girl" He teased. I slapped his shoulder this time. "You hit like one, too" he suppressed another laugh.

"Cut it out, Jake… I swear, one of these days…" I began to threaten but he cut me off.

"Easy, easy… I'm kidding, Kris' he raised his palms to the air, muffling another laugh.

"We're here" I said through my teeth, while parking the Jeep in front of the house. He continued with his fit. I rolled my eyes.

"Are you done?" my tone passed annoyed, giving him a piercing look. He nodded, not saying a word, smiled at me, jumped out of the jeep, closed the door and went to open mine.

"I didn't know you were a gentleman" I said through my teeth, he smiled widely and closed the door behind me.

"Sometimes I could be quite charming" he winked at me.

"Yep, except when you act completely annoying" I shook my head, as I pulled out the keys and opened the door to the house.

"Hey. I'm sorry I called you a girl…" he snickered "or assumed that you were into girly music" he suppressed a smile, trying to sound genuine. I couldn't help but smiled back.

"Ok. But don't let it happen again" I shot him a dark look and he nodded, his lips twitching.

Once inside the house, Jake began checking out the movies that were being featured while I made popcorn. Once they were done, I grabbed a huge bowl and sat down next to Jake in the couch.

"So… what are we watching?" I asked, shoving a handful of popcorn in my mouth and handling the bowl to him.

"Kill Bill vol. 1" he smiled broadly, and then, I recognized the first scene.

"Cool… I totally love that movie. The fighting sequences are amazing" I shoved another handful and settle myself in the couch, wrapping a blanket around my legs. Jake looked at me, puzzled.

"What? I'm cold" I said to my defense. He just shook his head and snickered, grabbing more popcorn.

"Come on, say it! I dare you to say it…" I threatened him, defiance in my tone.

"Hell no! I know better…" He chuckled. "Come on, relax. Let's just watch the movie, ok?" he patted me softly on the shoulder and placed his large feet on top of the table in front of the couch. I rolled my eyes again and made myself comfortable in the sofa.

He snickered, shaking his head.

"What?" my tone a bit irritated.

"I didn't know you liked action-martial arts movies, that's all" he eyed me, musing.

"Why? Because I'm such a girl?" I turned to look at him, a dangerous, mocking smile on my face.

He shrugged but didn't answer. Instead, he shoveled another handful of popcorn into his mouth. "Are you going to watch the movie? Or am I going to have to ask you to leave?" his tone sarcastic.

"This is MY house?" I gaped at him and then laughed. "You leave".

"I'm not leaving. I'm obviously the ONLY one enjoying the movie. So, you leave. You are distracting me" he shook his head disapprovingly and shooed me off, pushing me playfully off the sofa.

"I'm not leaving" I smacked him off.

"That's it, Kristen Evans. You asked for it" his tone menacing and humorous. I saw him pulling one of the sofa cushions. I didn't understand what he was doing, until he began hitting me with it on the head.

"What the hell?" I yelled back, grabbing another one and launching it to his face. He gave a 'you shouldn't have done that' look and grabbed both of my wrists with his way-too big hand, and began hitting me with another cushion.

"Hey, cut it out Jake" I yelled out, laughing, trying to break free from him grip.

So, our nice, quiet movie turned into a cushion fight in seconds, which of course, Jacob won. By the time our fight was over, the movie was half way through and there was a mess of popcorn and cushions all over the floor.

"We better clean this up before my aunt gets here" panic in my tone.

We placed everything back as fast as we could, and still, got a chance to see the last chapter of the movie.

"Your hair is a mess" Jake snickered again.

"Yeah, thanks to you" I sighed, trying to fix it.

"Leave it, I kind of like it like that" he winked at me and I blushed.

"Lets just finish watching the movie, ok?" I shook my head and looked back at the t.v. With the corner of my eye, I saw Jake smile to himself and sigh.

There was something about that particular smile of his that I couldn't understand why it made me feel all giddy inside. It just did.

* * *

* * *

**Kristen is very happy to finally see Jacob after almost two years, but she wasn't expecti****ng on finding him all grown up.**

**She doesn't understand why she feels the way she does when around Jake. I mean, he is her best friend, right? Could it be attraction or real close friendship?**

**Please review :)**


	5. A small change will do you good

**4. "A small ****change will do you good"**

Time seemed to fly by when I hung out with Jake and his gang down at the Quileute Reservation, all of a sudden, my vacations were almost over. I only had just two days left before I went back home (to my dreadful reality, to be precise) and that got me upset. _Why did it have to end so soon? I was really enjoying it. Sigh._ To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward on going back to California. I mean, I did miss Catherine and Jay, but, I sort of felt as if I needed to stay here, in Forks. As if this _was _home.

The thought of it just got me gloomier; I suppressed a sigh and felt how my face made an involuntary frown, while poking my lettuce with the fork. I just wasn't hungry, my stomach felt queasy and if I took another bite, I might throw up. And then, someone kicked me around the ankle from under the table, I snapped my head up and found Jacob staring at me, an impish grin in the corner of his lips; he winked, I guess he was trying to make me smile, but his effort failed. He seemed to catch my mood; he pulled his eyebrows together and cocked his head to the side, giving me a questioningly look.

"What's wrong?" he mouthed silently from across the table, I just shook my head slowly, my eyes falling back to my plate.

Aunt Lily had invited Jake and Billy for dinner, she made her special Mediterranean Salad and Fetuccini Alfredo. They were more than thrilled on coming over, Aunt Lily was a great cook.

"Is there something wrong with your salad, dear?" she asked while eyeing my constant poking with the fork. Billy, who was in an animated conversation with her, turned around to look at me, curious. I felt my face grow hot.

"Umm, no Aunt Lily, your salad is great. It's just that… I-I got lost in my thoughts, that's all…" I smiled politely at her, taking a bite of my tomato, and swallowing it with a lot of effort; my throat didn't want to cooperate. I felt Jacob's gaze still on my face, I blushed even deeper.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she insisted, there was a bit of worry in her tone.

I nodded "Mm-hmm. I'm sort of tired" I tried to sound genuine while trying to cover my sadness with exhaustion.

"Hey, that hike wasn't even hard? How can you be tired?" Jacob snickered while stuffing his mouth with more pasta, completely cleaning his plate. My eyes immediately flashed to him and rolled them out. I felt another playful kick around the ankle, so, this time, I kicked him back, flashing him an evil smile. He narrowed his eyes and chuckled.

"Yeah, well. You guys know your turf inside and out, but… it comes into a disadvantage when you're the newbie" I shook my head while standing up to help Aunt Lily, who begun picking up the empty dishes. "I'll take them, Aunt Lily. I'll bring dessert" I said, taking the ones she had on her hands and placing them on top of the ones I was carrying.

"Mmmm… What's for dessert, Lils?" Billy's eyes sparkled, excitement in his tone.

"Cinnamon-apple pie with vanilla ice cream" she answered happily. I heard Jake and Billy give a couple of praising grunts, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I'll be back with dessert, then" I said making my way into the kitchen.

I heard Jake stand "I'll help you" and followed me.

Billy said something inaudible to Aunt Lily, and she laughed softly "I know" she whispered. _They are unbelievable!_

I was placing the dishes in the sink when I felt Jake stand behind me. I turned around and found him with his arms folded on his chest and a blank expression on his face. "Could you please tell me what's bothering you?"

"Nothing" I shook my head, he raised a brow.

"Kristen…" his tone was insisting.

"I'm leaving in two days! Ok?" I snapped. I didn't understand why I suddenly felt mad and powerless. "I don't want to go back… It's too… I can't be…" I felt my eyes get wet again. I sighed exasperated.

"Then don't go back" he shrugged, his voice casual. I blinked a couple of times and just stared at him. I couldn't understand where he was going with this, so I waited.

"Your aunt totally loves the idea of you being here, she has told Billy that hundreds of times since you got here. And you don't want to go back and live with your sister, right? So… stay" I noticed that there was no trace of humor on his words. I just gaped at him.

_Just stay here?_

"You are suggesting that I move in? To Forks? To stay here?" my voice was dazed. _To leave everything and stay here?!? I wish it were that easy._

"Well… yeah. Why not? His face was still unreadable.

"It's not that easy Jake. I can't just say 'hey, what the hell… I'll leave everything and move to Forks' I just can't…" my tone became angry, because I that was exactly what I wanted to do. Stay in Forks, but…. I was way to chicken to admit it.

"There is always an alternative, Kristen. You just have to take it…" he looked at me, reading my face. I shook it several times.

"I wish I could…" I sighed again.

"What do you have to loose, Kris?" though his tone wasn't hostile, his words hit me hard. I felt as if I smacked against a wall or something. I guess I made a face, because Jake's expression changed to concern and took two steps towards me, his hands falling on his side.

"That was harsh of me… I'm sorry, what I meant was…" he begun but I raised my hand up and closed my eyes. He stopped, abruptly.

"You are right, Jake. I have _nothing_ to loose…" my voice was just a whisper. _I've already lost so much in so little time…_

"Hey! We're still waiting for the pie!" Billy's voice boomed from the dining room, he sounded impatient.

"Billy!" I heard Aunt Lily warn him playfully.

"What? I hope they left some for us" He chuckled loudly.

I sighed deeply and my lips trembled a bit. _Why was I feeling like this? Was it really because I was going back to face my nightmares? I was afraid of being alone again. _

Jacob took another step and pulled me into a small hug. "Everything will be alright, Kris" he squeezed me tight, but I just didn't feel better. I nodded and slowly pulled away.

"Your dad is getting anxious, better bring him dessert" I smiled wryly and made my way to the counter where the pie was. I began cutting the pieces and placing them in smaller plates, Jake placed his warm hand on my shoulder, I turned to look at him.

"You are never alone… I'm always here for you, 24/7. Maybe not physically, but…" he smiled softly.

"Thank you" I smiled back.

"What are friends for?" he chuckled and took two plates with pie and headed towards the living room "You have to be a little more patient, old man…" I heard Jake say mockingly to his father. I giggled a little and grabbed the other two plates and left the kitchen.

After several servings of pie and coffee, Billy called it a night. "Well…" he patted his stomach, pleased. "I definitely gained like 20 pounds tonight. I'm telling you Lils, you are a hell of a great cook. How do you stay in shape, I could never understand" he smiled broadly. "Thank you for a wonderful meal" he said while placing his napkin on the table and backing up with his wheel chair.

"It's always a pleasure having you and Jacob over, Billy. We both enjoy your company" she glanced quickly towards me and I turned pink, I nodded.

"Yeah, well… we better get going, it's almost midnight and I'm sure Kristen here, is probably going to collapse any moment now" Billy began moving out of the dining room, Jacob helped him, by pushing the wheelchair. "Kid, you look exhausted" he eyed me concerned, "Go get some rest. I'm sure you're going to need it tomorrow… I have no idea what these guys have planed for you" he looked up at Jake, who gave me a wicked grin.

"I'll try" I sighed, which sounded more like a yawn. I did feel tired, come to think of it.

Aunt Lily gave them a bag with some leftovers and the remains of apple pie, which they took more than happily. We said goodbye and Jake gave me a 'will you be ok?' look. I nodded and gave him a reassuring smile, though it wasn't genuine.

"Ok. So, I'll see you tomorrow morning Kris" Jake called out while pushing the wheelchair through the entrance. "Good night, and, thanks again".

"Night" Aunt Lily and I answered back, standing in the porch while watching them get in Jake's truck and pull away. It began to rain hard and it was a little colder than usual. I shivered.

"Come on honey, go to bed. I'll clean everything up" I felt her hands on my shoulders, rubbing them soothingly. I turned to look at her and smiled.

"Are you sure that there's nothing bothering you, sweetheart?" she placed her hand on my cheek, it was so… motherly.

I shook my head slowly "I'm fine, Aunt. Don't worry. I guess I'm just… going to miss this place, that's all" I gave her a sheepish smile.

"You get quite accustom to it rather quickly, huh?" her eyes were warm.

"It's just that here is so full of… good memories" I sighed, feeling my heart sink a little.

"Honey, my offer is still open…" she gave me an encouragingly smile "This is your home, you are welcome to stay for as long as you want. All you have to do is ask" she kissed my cheek and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you" I breathed.

"Now, off to bed. God knows what awaits for you in a couple of hours with these boys" she patted my shoulder and I giggled.

"Yeah, I know. Good night Aunt Lily" and ran upstairs to my room.

I changed into my pjs and hopped into bed, but I wasn't sleepy anymore. There was a question that was causing me insomnia. _Move in to Forks? I just couldn't, could I?_

_* * * * *_

I felt anxious, I just couldn't stay still in bed. _Why is she taking so long to wake up?_ I glanced at the clock, it was 6 a.m. I kept repeating that same glance for the last hour and a half. Then, I heard the radio and smelled freshly brewed coffee. _Guess she's up. _I smiled and jumped out of bed, quickly put on my slippers and made my way to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Kristen. Did you get a good night sleep? She smiled broadly, giving me a cup of hot cocoa.

"Yes, thank you" I took it in my hands, the warmth felt nice. "Aunt Lily…" I hesitated. "I-I have something to ask you…" _here it goes._

_* * * * *_

So, it was settled. I was officially moving to Forks on January.

Jake was more than thrilled when I told him the news. He picked me up in one of those choking-almost break your bones-bear hugs of his and spun me around. "That's great news, Kristen!" his husky voice full of thrilled.

"Ja-Jake!!! Can't breathe" I gasped for air. He laughed out loud and placed me on the floor. "Sorry" he smiled broadly.

"So. I guess I'll see you in a few days then" I smiled and hugged him goodbye.

"Yep. Have a great Christmas. I expect to see my presents when you come back" he tussled my hair and I quickly pecked him in the cheek. He flashed me a breath taking smile. "Go on, get out of here" he said amused.

I ran towards the car, where Aunt Lily was waiting. Once inside, we both waved goodbye to Jacob and made our way to Seattle's Airport.

Aunt Lily and I flew back to California to spend the Holidays with Catherine and Jay. They gave us the good news that Jay had become the new manager of the company he was working for and that they were moving to Arizona on February. I was so happy for them both. They deserved this change.

The days in California passed quickly. I guess I felt excited to return to Forks as soon as possible. My clothing was already packed in several boxes with the rest of my things. There was no point in taking my summer clothes, I mean, you could hardly see the sun over there, so I gave them to Catherine.

Christmas and New Year's in family felt nice, but, a bit empty for my point of view. We missed our parents terribly, but neither Cath or I brought it up, though. It was time to move on, out of grief. It was time for a change. And, as terrified as I felt, I was going for it…

* * * * *

The semester would start next Monday, so, I had a little bit of time to catch up on my subjects and not feel left behind. I was feeling kind of nervous on attending school here in Forks; I wished I was allowed on Jake's school in the reservation.

_Why wasn't I Quileute? Frown. Oh, well. It can't be that horrible._

"Oh, come on! You are gonna do fine… I've heard school here at Forks isn't so bad. Well, is not as great as ours, but, well… you know" he said a big smug from behind a pile of boxes he was carrying to my room. He was kind enough to help me unpack.

"It's easy for you to say. You've been attending the same schools ever since you were 6. You practically know everybody, AND you've never been the 'new kid' " I frowned even deeper.

"Well, that's true…" he chuckled and placed the boxes on the bed. "Is that all?" he asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist. "Phew… All that hard work has gotten me really thirsty…" his voice mocking, while fanning himself with his hand.

"I'll bring you some lemonade" I rolled my eyes and headed downstairs.

"That tone didn't sound appreciating at all, missy…" I heard him call out, I laughed.

I grabbed the jug from the fridge and filled in a huge glass with lemonade and headed back upstairs. "Here's your lemonade, my hard-working-friend-who's-never-appreciated" I called while entering my room. I found Jacob staring at something he had on his hands.

"This is a great picture" he whispered.

My knees wobbled a little and felt my heart race. I guess he must have opened one of the boxes on my bed. I walked slowly, as if time dragging by without wanting to.

"We'd spent the whole day at the beach… we were watching the sunset" I began, while placing the glass on the table and taking the picture from his hands and into mine. He just stared at me. "Jay took out his camera and… That picture was taken two weeks before the accident…" my throat went dry, I couldn't speak anymore. I began to shake a bit. It still hurt to talk about them. Mom and Dad looked so happy, holding each other's hands, while Cath hugged Mom and I hugged Dad. I felt a piercing pain in my chest, I sighed, trying to control it.

"Hey…" he took the picture between his fingers and placed his hand on my shoulder, rubbing it softly.

"I'm alright, it's just… I-I have to learn how to… " I couldn't finish. Jake's hand was still on my shoulder,his gaze intently on my face. I took in several breaths, and finally calmed down.

"Hey…" I cleared my throat. "I have another picture that I think you might enjoy" I walked towards the box from where Jake had taken the first picture.

"Here!" my tone as light as I could manage, he raised his eyebrow and took it from my hands. An immediate smile spread across his lips.

"When did you take this?" he asked. It was a picture of Catherine, Jay, Jake and me with my broken wrist stuffing ourselves with food. Jake was taking a bite out of a huge hamburger while I was stealing some fries from his plate with my good hand.

"Mom took it when your dad invited us to your barbecue two years ago… remember?" I giggled.

"Wow… we looked so different" he mused. "You were so cute back then…" he pinched my cheek, making a sickly-sweet voice. "What happened?" he chuckled, giving me a playful grin.

"Guess I grew up…" I slapped his hand away and smacked his shoulder as hard as I could, it felt as if I hit a wall. "On the other hand, YOU still have that goofy smile of yours"

"Hey, my smile is NOT goofy… It's charming" he raised a brow, his tone as a matter a factly. He smiled that beautiful smile of his, showing me his pearly white teeth.

I rolled my eyes again. "What ever!" I shook my head, turned around, and began taking out stuff from my boxes. I heard him grunt.

"Well… it's not!" he insisted.

_God, sometimes he was such a two year old!_

"Ok. Ok. You are right…" I spun around to face him, he was closer that I thought, my cheeks turned slightly pink. He was leaning in, his arms folded in his chest, looking straight down at me. There was a hint of hurt in his face.

_God!__ He's so tall_. My forehead was at the height of his chin.

"So… you accept that I have a charming smile?" he challenged mischievously, raising both his brows; he didn't blink.

I stared back at him, not blinking either. "I think you have a gorgeous smile, Jacob Black" I answered in a small voice, my heart pounding fast on my ribcage. My cheeks were two red tomatoes, but still, I didn't break the stare.

He leaned closer, and I held my breath.

He smirked and took a step back, relaxing his hands and dropping them to his sides. "Thank you" he added simply, and walked back, taking the boxes that were on the floor and placing them on the table.

_Oh my God! What was that?_

We didn't speak for the next hour, just placed everything where it should go. I noticed that Jake kept throwing some glances towards me and smiling to himself, but, I pretended I wasn't looking.

_What was going on around here? I didn't get it. Was I flirting with my best friend? No. Of course not. Come on Kris, you are just imagining things. Jake is your friend. He's just your friend, ok…_

"Hey, I gotta get going. I promised Billy I would help him with his fishing gear" Jake stretched and grabbed his jacket that was hanging on my chair. "Listen, I guess I'll see you on Monday then…" he hesitated a bit. I looked at him puzzled.

"Quil and Embry have been on my case since I haven't hung out with them for a while and…" he seemed embarrassed. I totally understood this time.

"Oh, Jake! Of course, don't worry" I assured him, smiling.

"You don't mind, do you?" his tone concerned.

"No… Jake! They are your friends too… Come on, ever since I came to visit, we've been practically together all the time. I'm pretty sure the guys really hate me right now" I chuckled. He still didn't look convinced. _Sigh._

"Hey, I'll give you a call on Monday and see if we can make plans for Friday, ok?" I added coolly. I noticed that he frowned a little.

"Friday?" it sounded more like he was whining than asking.

"Jake, now that I'm living here, we'll be able to hang out more…" I smiled at him, he just stared back, his face blank. "You were friends with these guys way before you even met me… Besides, I'm pretty sure you'll get tired of me really quickly…" I chuckled and he shook his head.

"I doubt it" he said to himself.

"Believe me… you will" I knew this was true. _Hey, I even got tired of myself._

"Ok. Well, I'll expect your call on Monday then. I want to know how it went in school on your first day" Jake put on his jacket and began to walk down the stairs. I followed him.

"Alright Mr. Black. Enjoy your first day of school; have fun and don't pick up any fights… treat the new kids nicely, ok? We totally hate being bullied on our first day" I chuckled nervously, opening the door for him.

"Kris, you'll be fine…" he pulled a lock of my hair and smiled, "and, if somebody dares to bother you… let me know" his eyes flashed, I smiled back.

We gave each other a tight hug and he ran through the porch, making way towards his truck, getting completely soaked. It was pouring again, the scent of wet soil and fresh pine filled my lungs, it was intoxicating. I stared at his truck I lost him from view.

_Until Friday? Great, Kris. Hope you __can__ hang on until then… (*frown)_ I closed the door behind me and began walking to my room.

_I just want to make sure that Jake has time for himself; I don't want to hover around him more than I should. I'm not his girl-friend or anything like that._

_Just__ wanted to make it clear… for me._

_God, this is confusing!! _

_**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**_

_**Well, this chapter didn't turn out the way I expected. **_

_**I don't love it nor hate it. It just explains how she finally decides to move to Forks. **_

_**The next chapter will be about her first day of school and: HERE COME THE CULLENS!**_

_**Let's see what happens ;) Please review!!!**_


	6. So much for being unnoticed

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight of any of the Twilight Characters, all of them are creation of the author Stephanie Meyer. **

**Kristen and the rest of the new characters are of my creation.**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

_** much for being unnoticed.**_

All I could see where trees and more trees. I don't remember how I've gotten here in the first place. I ran through the depth of woods, never finding a trail that showed the way out. My throat was so dry, that even if I wanted to scream, not a single sound would come out. It was getting nearer, I was afraid to turn around and see who or what was behind me… I couldn't hear the steps or any other sound, but I knew I was being hunted. There was no use, I was too slow.

_Why are you taking so long? Get it over already! You know I can't outrun you! _My head screamed out loud, but not a word escaped my lips.

I couldn't breathe anymore, my lungs burned with every try. My foot got caught in something and I tripped, hitting the ground. I knew that the chase was over, so I braced myself for it. Suddenly, I felt something hard grab me by the shoulders and then, I flew through the air and smashed hard against a boulder, punching the air out of my lungs. I was in pain, tears rolled down my eyes… I saw a glimpse of something moving towards me and I heard an animalistic snarl on my ear. "Noooooooooooooooo!"

_Swoosh! Thud!_ I gasped out loud, snapping my eyes open. My whole frame shook while I pulled the covers over my head. I counted to three, slowly, taking deep breaths. I finally peeked out through my quilt, and found myself inside my room, completely alone. I felt like such a 3-year-old, shaking under the covers, but… it was too real.

I slowly moved my hand out of the quilt and reached towards the lamp that was on the table, next to my bed. But I didn't find it there. I pulled the covers off completely and stared at the empty table, my eyes trying to focus on the dark room. There was little light coming through the curtains, I guess it was breaking dawn.

I pulled myself to the edge of the bed and looked down, finally finding the damn lamp on the carpet. _Hope it still works. _I frowned, picking it up and plugging it in; I turned it on, filling the room with a soothing yellowish light.

_Damn it! Great going Kristen!_ I cursed again while finding several of my books and cds that were supposed to be on my shelf, scattered on the floor. _Hope there are never knives and sharp objects near you! _I sighed, exasperated with myself.

I got up, and began picking up the mess, completely lost in thought. _Hmp. So much for staying safe from nightmares. Sigh. Though, this one was different… _I didn't understood what the nightmare meant, not that any of them actually made sense, but, I couldn't get it… _Maybe I'm going to get attacked by a grizzly bear or something… _I shivered. _Better stay away from the woods when alone._ I made a mental reminder to that, and continued cleaning up.

By the time I was done, it was 5:50 a.m. and my alarm clock set off with "Viva la vida" by Coldplay. _Time to get ready for school. _I grimaced, making my way to my closet, carelessly picking out my clothing and then, went to the bathroom to shower, dragging my feet.

- - - - - -

It began to rain again, so I quickly got inside _my_ Jeep, turned on the heater and the radio, and made way for school. I was listening to my "Coldplay" CD while driving carefully down the road. _With all these curves here, I'm guessing it can get deadly when the road gets icy._

In less than 10 minutes, I was in Forks High. My stomach gave a huge lurk and my hands got a little sweaty while spotting the red brick buildings for the first time.

I made my way to the parking lot, and noticed that it was almost empty. It was probably still early. I found a spot that was the closest to the first building. It was pouring outside and, frankly, I wasn't in the mood of getting soaked, thick jacket or not.

I stayed inside my jeep, watching the rain flow carelessly through my window, listening to the CD that was still playing as a back ground; and then I felt something vibrate inside my jacket. It startled my for a second, and then remembered that it was my cell phone. I slid my fingers inside the pocket and took it out. The 'new message' icon was flashing. I pushed to button to see what it said.

'You'll do fine. Call you later :)'

It was a message from Jake. Suddenly, I felt better. I smiled to myself and took in a deep breath, _Ok. It's show time._ I strapped my backpack and with a long sigh, got out of my Jeep. I ran as fast as I could towards the nearest building, hoping I wouldn't get completely soaked. Several of the other kids were doing the same thing: running away from the rain. I could hear them laughing or cussing or complaining because of it. I smiled.

Once under the shelter of the roof, I began walking, looking around, trying to find the office so I could get some info on where to go. There were a couple of kids who were staring shyly at me, others, not so much "Guess she's the new kid" I heard a girl with short blond hair and a purple sweater say in a bored tone; she was standing next to two more girls, which also shot me a bored glance. I blushed and picked up my pace, not daring to look at them. _So much for being unnoticed._

I had no idea where I was going at all. The school didn't seem that big, but still, I got lost in it.

"Hey there! The blue jacket…" I heard someone call out in my direction, I slowed my pace, looking around, puzzled. _Was he talking to me?_

"You seemed lost. Do you need any help?" A boy with short curly hair and dimples asked while walking towards me, smiling. He left his group of friends behind, which, they just stared at my direction. Some giggles erupted and a couple of 'woos' too. I grimaced.

He seemed nice enough for me to ask for help.

"Yeah… I'm totally lost. I'm supposed to be looking for The School's Office, but I can't find it anywhere"

"Well… that's because you are in the wrong building" He chuckled.

"That explains it" I mumbled, turning pink. He smiled at me broadly.

"Come on. I'll show you the way. It's in the next one" he swiftly pointed to the building across from us. It was still raining. A groan escaped my lips without noticing.

"We better run for it" he laughed, watching my face. I frowned, and began walking faster. In a couple of strides, we were across. I felt relieved to get away from the rain.

"I'm Adam, by the way".

"I'm Kristen. Kristen Evans" I pulled my hair out of my face.

"Well Kristen Evans, welcome to rainy Forks" he chuckled.

I sighed. "Does it ever stop raining?' my tone annoyed.

"It does… when it begins to snow" he laughed at his joke, I just smiled. I didn't find it amusing at all.

"Come on. It's this way" he led the way across the corridor. And after a couple of steps, I was in front of the office's door.

"I'll take it from here. Thanks for your help Adam" I smiled politely.

"Are you sure you wont get lost again? Sarcasm in his tone now.

"No. I won't. Promise" I waved goodbye and went inside the office. Adam chuckled once more and left.

Once inside the office, the lady by the counter, I assumed was the secretary, asked for my name and gave me a map of the school and my schedule. She warmly welcomed me to Forks High and told me to say hi to Aunt Lily, which I guessed, knew her.

I thanked her and left the office. I held my schedule and noticed that I had Calculus in the first period. According to my map, it was on building 4, across campus. I groaned loudly this time. _Rain again._ I sighed exasperated and made my way towards another wet run.

I was walking while looking at my map, trying to find a short cut to building 4. I had no desire of getting even wetter. My socks were already mushy and my hair was dripping at my back. I was so lost in the map, that I wasn't careful enough to see where I was going. And then, I accidently walked into someone.

"Oooops!" I said, after colliding with a girl who was walking in front of me. Making her drop a book she held on her hands. "Sorry" I quickly apologized, placing my hands in my mouth, turning scarlet.

"Hey, no sweat" she giggled, picking her book up. She had black straight hair, green eyes and freckles. She reminded me a bit of Catherine. Though, this girl had a rounder face.

"Schedule sheet, map in hand... totally 'lost' expression. You must be Kristen" she gave me a kind smile.

"Am I that obvious?" I smiled back.

"Just a little" she smirked.

"I totally suck at reading maps. Even this one that isn't so complicated" I grimaced.

"Where are you heading?" she peeked at my map.

"Building 4. Calculus"

"Hey, me too. I'll show the way" she smiled and began walking "Come on"

I walked next to her.

"My name is Sophie" her tone light.

"Kristen Evans" I laughed. "But I guess you already knew that…" I chortled and so did she.

"Yep. Adam told me about you. He's one of my friends" she turned to look at me. We were already crossing the lot, towards building 4. It was barely drizzling, I sighed in relief. "You made quite an impression on him…" she mused.

"What?" I blushed.

"Mmm-hmm" she nodded, playfully. I gaped at her. "Come on, it's this way" she pointed to the last door that was at the end of the corridor.

She didn't say anything else about the last recent statement, so I decided not to ask. _An impression on him? Great ;(_

We made our way through and got inside the classroom. All the students stared at me, some curious, some were just plain nosy. "Hey, over here" Sophie called out, pointing to a seat next to hers, so I took it. I noticed that the kids around kept shooting glances in my direction. I pretended I wasn't paying attention, while taking out my notebook and doodling in it.

"So, where are you from, Kristen?" Sophie asked, placing her backpack on the floor and taking out her notebook. The girl that was sitting in front of me cocked her head a little to the side, I was sure she was eavesdropping.

"California. But… I-I moved to here to live with my aunt" I looked at her.

"Oh, how come?" she smiled.

"Family issues…" I grimaced a bit.

"So, do you like Forks so far?" she immediately changed the question, guess she understood my expression. Sophie didn't seem nosy at all, I was beginning to like her.

"Yeah. I do, actually. It's the raining that sorts of irritates me a bit…" I gave her a small smile. She nodded.

"Doesn't it rain in California?" she giggled. Now, several students were listening to my conversation with Sophie. I still pretended not to notice them.

"It does, but not THIS much" I sighed. "Do you ever get used to the rain around here?"

"Well, no. But, it is fun when it snows. You know… snow fights can get to be pretty cool" she gave me an excited smile.

"Hey… next time it snows, you should totally join us for one" her green eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Believe me… you'll like it"

"Snow fight? I-I don't know…"

"Come on… trust me"

"Fine. But I'll just look, I won't fight. Deal?" I grimaced. _Seriously, a snow fight? I was doomed._

"Ok" she sighed and shook her head. The teacher entered the classroom and we left our conversation for later.

Calculus began and everything went smooth after that. I continued to get lost between lessons, but, there was always Adam or Sophie around, to help me find my way. I had the feeling that they were keeping watch, just to make sure I made it to the next period in time.

It was good to know that I shared some classes with them; knowing somebody in the class made me less nervous. Though, I did feel a little awkward to sit next to Adam, after what Sophie said earlier. Adam kept asking me questions about myself every time he had a chance, and we almost got in trouble with Mr. Molina, our Biology teacher because of that. But still, he was nice, so it didn't bother me that much.

- - - - - -

"Kristen!" I heard Adam call my name out loud, making me stop and look at him. He was sitting on a table with Sophie and the rest of their friends in the cafeteria. He waved so I would come over, smiling. I picked up the tray with my lunch and walked towards them, hesitating a bit.

"Guys, this is Kris" Sophie called out, once I was in front of them. The rest of her friends looked at me, I went scarlet immediately. "These are Rachel, Justin and Steven" she pointed out to a girl with blond wavy hair and a straight nose, who nodded. "Hey there…" she smiled. She wore a leather jacket and knee high boots. Next to her was Justin who was holding her hand. He had long-dark dreadlocks and gray eyes; he looked like he was into surfing or something like that.

On the other hand, Steven had a more intellectual appearance with his thin pale face and glasses; he was writing something in his laptop when I arrived. Steven looked up from his work and said a polite hello, quickly returning to his work.

"Kristen here just moved up from California…" Sophie said coolly.

"Um… hi" I said awkwardly.

"Oh, here! Please." Adam gave me his seat next to Sophie and got another chair from the next table, placing it next to me and sitting down.

"Thanks" I said politely.

"So, Kristen… are there any good waves in California?" Justin asked eagerly. _Yep, definitely a surfer._

"Yeah… There's a lot of surfing over there. My bother in-law and his friends used to go to the beach almost every weekend"

"Cool! Do you surf?" interest in his tone.

"Um, no. I did try it a couple of times, but… I totally sucked at it" I laughed, and so did they.

"Do you have like a hobby or something?" Rachel asked coolly.

"Well, yeah. I'm into hula dancing" I said a bit embarrassed. They seemed puzzled, probably didn't know what hula was, so I decided to clear it up "Hawaiian dance" and she made the 'oh, now I get it' face. "And, I'm also into rock climbing…"

"Cool" Justin said. Steven looked up from his laptop.

"Really… rock climbing?" Adam asked intrigued. I nodded. "Wow. You don't look like the xtreme sports kind of girl"

"Gee, thanks" I blushed.

"No, no, no… what I meant was, well, you… don't" he chuckled. So did everyone else, including me.

"When did you start rock climbing?" Sophie asked, while taking a bite from her sandwich.

"Like 3 years ago. My brother in-law, Jay, and my sister Cath began rock climbing and I sort of started going with them. After a few tries, I noticed that I liked it, and continued doing it…'

"Are you any good?" Steven asked this time, closing his computer and focusing on our little conversation.

"Uh, I was… until I broke my wrist nearly two years ago and… well, it's been hard ever since. I'm thinking of continuing to practice, see if I can recover some of my skills, but I know it will take some time" I frowned.

"Practice? Here?" Adam questioned.

"Down by La Push… there are pretty cool routes over there… it was there where I broke my wrist in the first place. I was trying to lead the climb" I instinctively rubbed my right wrist with my left fingers and smiled to my self. They gave me a puzzled look.

I didn't bother to explain.

"Well, I would totally love to give it a try, if you would like to show me" Sophie smiled at me, taking a sip of her juice.

"Sure, I was thinking of going down next weekend… you are more than welcome to join in" I gave a bite to my apple. Suddenly, all of them seemed interested in coming along. So, we made plans to hang around La Push on Saturday. _Maybe Jake and his friends would tag along. _

_This is pretty cool for my first day of school. Why was I so worried about? Silly Kristen._

School was over in a blur. Before heading for the parking lot, Sophie gave me her number and I gave her mine and she said she would call me later, and waved goodbye. I smiled and made my way to my Jeep, taking out my cell phone, not waiting to get home, and called Jake.

"Hey!" his husky voice happy. "How did it go?"

"Good, good… I was expecting worse" I chuckled, closing the door of my Jeep and starting the ignition. "How was yours?'

"Sucked. Can you believe it? First day of school and I already have tons of homework" he groaned. I couldn't help but laugh. "It's not funny Kristen. I have like four pages of Calculus to turn in tomorrow" he said annoyed.

"Do you need any help? I could stop by?" inside, I hoped._ Kristen, remember… not until FRIDAY._

"That's nice, Kris, but… I'm going to try and do it by myself" he sighed.

"Oh, ok. Well… if you change your mind, give me a call" I frowned. "So, what do you want to do on Friday? My tone as light as I could.

"Uh, well... there's gonna be a bone fire on the beach. Would you like to come?' he asked, a little uncertain.

"Sounds great Jake!" I loved bone fires.

"Cool!" he said pleased to hear my excitement. Maybe he was worried I wasn't up to go to the fire. _Why would he think that?_

"Oh, um… I-I almost forgot. A couple of kids from school and I were thinking of going down to La Push on Saturday. They want to check out the climbing routes over there" I said coolly.

"So… You made friends on your first day" He mused, there was a hint of accusation there.

"Sort of…" I chuckled nervously, "hope it's ok for us to go over there. I was hoping you and your friends would join us and hang out" I pulled my eyebrows together, my tone hoping..

"Sure, sure. Sounds cool. I'll tell Quil and Embry" he said coolly. "Well, I got to go Kris, call you tomorrow, ok?'

"Ok. Good luck with your homework" I smirked.

"Ha. Ha. Funny. But, thanks. Bye" he chuckled darkly.

'Bye Jake" and I hung up.

I decided to stop by the store to pick up the ingredients to make dinner. It was my turn to cook and I wanted to surprise Aunt Lily. When came home like around 7pm and dinner was ready. She was so pleased with my surprise; she looked completely exhausted. "Wow, thanks honey". We ate together and talked about our first day. I told her about Sophie and her gang and about my plans with Jake. She seemed happy that I began a social life in such short notice; she didn't say anything, but, the smile on her lips began to get wider and wider with everything I said to her. And, after washing the dishes, I excused myself and went upstairs to finish my homework, take a shower and try to fall asleep.

The nightmares continued to make presence in my subconscious; it was exactly the same thing over and over. The worst part was the growl. It was so frightening, so real… so close.

And every time, I would wake up soaked in sweat, muffling my screams with the pillow while covering myself with the quilt. I didn't want to wake up Aunt Lily, or worse, I didn't want to worry her. But somehow, the noises of banging objects in the middle of the night might've woken her up; if they did, she never mentioned anything the next day.

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Hey guys. Well, this was a really long chapter, so I decided to make them into two separate ones. Don't know if it was a good idea or not… mhew :0 oh well!**

**Next chapter, THE CULLENS 3**


	7. Outsiders

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight of any of the Twilight Characters, all of them are creation of the author Stephanie Meyer. **

**Kristen and the rest of the new characters are of my creation.**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**6. Outsiders.**

_Today is_Friday_! Last day of school and I get to see Jake. _ I smiled to myself, while entering the parking lot. It was still half way full; there were nearly 20 minutes to spare, so, I parked my Jeep at my usual spot, and waited for Sophie. I scanned for her car, but it wasn't in sight, so I took out my ipod. I began shuffling between songs, _I need something relaxing_, I thought to myself. I felt a little shaky 'cause of my sleepless night. _Perfect! _I pressed play on 'Quiet mind' by Blue October, increased the volume a bit more and rested my head back on the Jeep's seat, closing my eyes. I was so tired. _If I could just sleep for a couple of minutes… _

The lack of sleep had me completely exhausted.

I was beginning to doze off, drifting away with the melody, when I felt a car pull in next to mine. The shutting of two uncoordinated doors made me jump and snap my eyes open abruptly. I sighed, annoyed. _Can't a girl get some sleep around here!? _

Irritated, I re-arranged the weight in my seat, pulled the earphones of my ipod away and glared through the window, to see **who the hell had woken me up?**

I noticed that the car was parked unusually, it was in reverse, and the driver's side was next mine. Who ever it was, had his back to me. He was pulling on a black jacket on and strapping his backpack to his shoulder.

"Seriously, Edward, you call that driving?" I heard a girl's soft voice from the other side of the car. "You should let me drive us to school tomorrow, we would get here even faster than _that"_ her tone disapproving. I couldn't see her, because the other person was blocking my view.

"Not in my car, Alice" the stranger spoke smoothly, shaking his head. "You want to drive? Bring your own car".

"Well, next time I will" she spoke again, sulking. "Rose is finishing the last touches on mine you know… Huh, wonder where they are."

"Close" he swiftly turned around to face the entrance of the parking lot, as if expecting to see somebody come through it.

Suddenly, an intense force pulled his gaze through the wet window of my Jeep into mine, locking it there. I felt myself catch my breath while my heart skipped a beat; everything was in a haze, there was nothing around, movement or sound… only his eyes staring deeply into mine, as if trying to read them…

In that fraction of a second, the world and everything around it, _froze._

I didn't dare to blink, I was afraid he might disappear. _Am I dreaming?_ Air filled my lungs slowly, carefully, trying not to move an inch. _Maybe if I move, he'll disappear… I cringed._

There was no way I could tell if I was asleep or awake, he just didn't look real. I'm not sure if I could describe him fairly, but all I know is that I've never seen someone so breathtakingly beautiful. The exposed skin of his face and neck was as pale as a white rose petal, and under the deep black fabric of his sway jacket, he looked even paler. The bronzed locks of his hair were in disarray, as if he just had woken up, but still, none of them were out of place, just perfect. His face was incredibly flawless: straight nose, strong squared jaw, chiseled cheekbones, and perfectly full pale lips. Like I said, he was just breathtakingly beautiful. _Now I'm sure I was dreaming…_

Though his features were exquisite, nothing pulled me more than his gaze. There was something particular about his dark-honeyed eyes under those thick long lashes that shot me a shock of electricity through my whole frame. I didn't understand the feeling, but it was definitely there, making presence. It was a mixture of excitement, anxiety and curiosity that went through my veins in a rush. My lips slowly parted, and then is when I noticed that I was gawking at him like and idiot.

I blushed. _Why was I blushing?_

He didn't smile, or nod, or said anything, really. He just held all of my senses in his gaze for a couple of seconds, making them his, and then… he spun around, braking eye contact and setting me free. "They're here. Let's go" he spoke to the girl standing on the other side of the car, and began to walk across the parking lot. The girl followed him without saying a word.

I just gaped at the window, looking at him walk away, not fully understanding what'd just happened. All my body shook slightly; a tingly sensation on my finger tips and lips, my heart beating a bit faster than normal speed. _Oh my God. What was that?_

While trying to regain control over my whole self, I finally managed to see the girl, but just from the backside, walking next to him. She seemed rather tiny compared to his tall frame. Her hair was dark, short with a pixiesh cut, pointing in every direction. She must have said something to him, because the boy shook his head again once and she glanced curiously in my direction. I flushed immediately. _Wonder what she asked him?_

Then, a red convertible parked just across from me. A beautiful, curved blond girl and a tall, strongly-built guy came out of it, gracefully. They looked like a couple of run-way models the way they were dressed; they held each other's hands and he kissed her on the lips. It was like a romantic movie scene; the only thing missing was the snow feathers falling around them and high pitch violin playing as background music. It was a honey-spilled-all-over-sweet moment.

They moved swiftly, catching up with the other two that were waiting for them a couple of cars ahead. The boy never looked my way again. _Sigh._

_So, they're all together. _

I kept looking at them through the window until I lost them from view, not daring to step out of the car, because, well, I couldn't move really. I was frozen in place. A loud tap on the passenger's window made me jump again, a low _'oh'_ escaping my lips and my hand immediately flying to my chest. It was Sophie. _What the hell???_

"Hey, there! Morning Kristen You coming?" she asked, smiling broadly.

I nodded, a bit dumbstruck. I slowly grabbed my backpack, my keys and jumped out of the Jeep. The cold, moist air woke me up from what looked like a day dream. I blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath. I felt funny, as if just waking up from an exhausted dream.

"You alright? " she raised her brow, a bit of worry behind it.

"Oh… yeah. I-I'm just sleepy, that's all" I said trying to sound convincing while closing the door of the jeep and pulling my beanie down; it was so cold, that the tip of my ears were freezing. I shivered and Sophie rolled her eyes.

She gave an appreciative whistle. "Whoa! Wonder who's driving this beauty?" she said while her eyes popped in amazement, staring at a rather 'way too expensive' silver Volvo parked next to mine.

"Well, who ever it is, I'm sure is in some way related to the owner of the red convertible over there" I nodded towards the other conspicuous car. I heard her gasp.

"They're probably the new kids that moved down from Alaska" she stated, while we began walking to class. I gave her a puzzled look. "My mom told me yesterday. News travel fast in a small town like Forks, Kris" she smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, tell me about it" I sighed, remembering how I felt on my first day of school. Everybody knew who I was in the first five minutes in the building. It was horrible! I grimaced.

"They seem rich… I bet, they're snobby or something" she sighed. "As if with Summer and her gang wasn't enough" acid in her tone. I nodded. _Gee, great._

Summer and her group of friends were the kind of people that had the impression that they were better than everyone else, _AND_ they made sure you knew that. They thought of them selves as the 'cool girls of school' I thought they were spoiled, arrogant air-heads with a daddy that bought them whatever they whined about.

"Let's hope that you're wrong" my mind raced back to the face of the beautiful strange boy staring back at me with his alluring piercing eyes through the window. I shivered a bit. There was something about those eyes that just made my knees tremble…

We continued to walk to class, talking about Plan B in case our trip to La Push was canceled. As we walked, we heard several comments about the new kids from Alaska. Apparently, they were known as 'The Cullens'. Every corner you turned to, there was somebody talking about the subject.

"Was it like that with me on Monday?" I raised my brow questioningly. Sophie nodded, and I just shook my head. "Man, there isn't much going on around here, huh? I smirked.

"Nope" she giggled.

We made it to Biology and went to our lab table, which I shared it with Sophie and another girl, called Sarah. Sarah was already there, her books opened and she was writing small notes on the corner of her notebook; she smiled and greeted us once we sat down. We made some small talk before Mr. Molina came into view, calling the whole class for order and gave assignments for our monthly project. I immediately began scribbling down on my notebook, trying no to forget any details of what he said. _Don't want to screw up my first project here._

I guess I was so busy writing, I didn't notice when the door of the classroom swung open and everybody fell silent. A second later, I heard several low gasps, even Sophie's who was the closest to me. I felt her nudge me with her elbow softly on my ribs, making me loose focus on what I was doing and look up. _Gasp!_

"Ah, Mr. Cullen, I was expecting you. Come in, come in." Mr. Molina said politely. The boy nodded once, and came inside. Everybody in the classroom froze and gaped at him. My heart began to speed again. _Him? Here?_

"I apologize for my tardiness, sir. But, I was kept in the school's office longer than intended" his voice was smooth, alluring. His tall, lean frame walked towards Mr. Molina giving him a white paper slip and taking a step back, waiting. His beautiful pale face expressionless.

"No wonder… I would have kept him there all day" Sophie said mockingly under her breath, completely gawking at him. "He's gorgeous" she giggled.

"Right" Mr. Molina said while reading the slip in his hands. "Mr. Cullen, why don't you take a seat on the corner table over there?" he pointed to the empty lab table at the end of the classroom.

"Yes sir" he nodded politely and began to walk to the table, looking straight ahead. For a fraction of a second, his gaze met mine, and then he looked away. My stomach did a summersault and my eyes dropped to my notebook again, embarrassed. Sophie noticed my reaction and gave me a mischievous smile. I pretended to be busy with my notebook, not looking at her.

"What was _that_ about?" she whispered eagerly. I shook my head slowly, avoiding eye contact with her, but she just kept staring at me smiling. _Would you just drop it, Soph?_

"Ok, everyone!" I heard Mr. Molina's voice rise and I sighed in relief "Let's get back to work, open up page 315 please and begin revising the ingredients you must bring for next week…" I felt Sophie brake her stare and returned to her book. Everybody pretended to be paying attention, but, was really throwing glances and curios looks towards the last table. _Poor boy, I know how that feels like... ugh._

"Oh, and Miss Evans…" I looked up at Mr. Molina questioningly. _Oh no… was he about to…?_

"Why don't you pair up with Mr. Cullen, over there, and begin working on this month's project?" he said while opening his book and scanning through the pages.

_What?_ My heart was now noisily pounding on my ears.

I gaped at him for a second and felt my cheeks turn pink. _Say something! _ "E-Excuse me Mr. Molina, but I-I've already begun my project with my lab partners" I stuttered nervously, shyly pointing to Sarah and Sophie, who had the same puzzled expressions on their faces.

"I am aware of that, Miss Evans" his tone a bit annoyed "But, there are three people in your table and Mr. Cullen doesn't have a lab partner. So, if you would please…" he raised his eyes from the book this time and gave me a 'it wasn't a question, but an order' look. _The battle's lost. Give in._

"Yes sir" I grimaced, and began picking up my things, defeated. _Oh my God! Why me? I can't, I… sigh. _My hands began to tremble and my head was spinning a bit. I managed to put my belongings inside my backpack without dropping any of them.

"I so totally hate you right now…" Sophie giggled, and I gave her a frown, followed by a defeated sigh. She cocked her head to the side and gave me a confused look. I just shook my head again and left my safe, comfortable place in that table.

I heard resented murmuring among the students, mostly from the girls, once I began walking to my new table. "Why her?", "She's so lucky", "Bitch". _Wonderful, simply wonderful._

I kept my eyes on the floor, avoiding the poisoned glances I knew were thrown like poisonous sharp daggers at me and continued my unsteady walk; my knees were wobbly. _What's wrong with you, Kristen? He's just a boy… _I had no idea what was happening to me.

It felt like an eternity for me to finally reach my seat. Once there, I carefully pulled the chair away from the table and sat down, placing my books and back pack on my lap, avoiding eye contact with _him._ But, he didn't seem to be paying attention to me at all; he didn't even glance at me while I sat down next to him. _Hmm? That's strange. He seems to be avoiding me too._

With the corner of my eye, I could see that his arms were folded across his chest, while staring at the Biology book he had opened on the table. _Was he actually reading the book, or pretending to…? I don't see his eyes moving. _Then, he quickly changed the page of his book, and returned to his former position. _Guess he is reading… Kristen, relax. You are loosing it._

Several minutes passed, and none of us spoke a word. Mr. Molina continued with the class and kept giving instructions while walking around the classroom. I tried to pay attention to what he was saying, but I just couldn't focus at all. There was as strange magnetism irradiating from my neighbor that just kept me amiss. Hey, I couldn't even write anything that made sense in my notebook; I kept doodling all over the page.

_Maybe I should say something, to break the awkward silence. I'm sure he's just as nervous as I was on my first day. Ugh, it sucks how people make you feel all alien like when you're the new kid…_

"Hi" I said timidly, still avoiding his gaze. My eyes were locked on the page in front of me. _Kristen, that isn't polite at all… you aren't even looking at him. You can do better than that. _

"Hi" I heard his beautiful voice answer back, expressionless. But, slowly cocked his head to my direction. I felt my cheeks grow hot. _You are still not looking at him! Come on! You can do it! _With the corner of my eye I saw his lips twitch, so, I relaxed a bit.

"Umm. I-I'm Kristen. Evans" I stuttered a bit, slowly turning my face towards his direction, my eyes hesitating a little, lingering at the angle of his jaw and finally meeting his gaze. A jolt of electricity shook me once more, making me gasp softly. There wasn't a window between us this time; I could fully appreciate his flawless features. _Just beautiful…_

"Edward Cullen" he nodded slowly, giving me a small smile, but it never touched his eyes. His beautiful honey gaze was deep, penetrating, careful. He held me there for a second, but looked away once more. My head spun a little. It's a good thing I was sitting, otherwise I would have lost my balance. I didn't know what else to say. _Why is he avoiding me? Well, I tried… sigh._

Mr. Molina called everybody to pay attention to the last instructions and then, the bell rang. _Already? But, what time…?_

I quickly glanced towards the clock on the wall, and indeed, class was over. I shook my head, trying to think clearly and began placing my books inside my backpack. I felt Edward Cullen stand up, and swiftly made his way without saying a word. I looked up and followed him with my eyes. Suddenly, he stopped in the doorway for a second and glance back at me once more, before disappearing from view.

_Wow. _I had no words. I still didn't understand what it all meant. All I knew is that Edward Cullen was the most strange and intriguing boy I've ever met in my life. I just stared again, static, with my backpack on my hands.

"Hello, Kris! You're going to be late for English… come on!!" Sophie yelled out from her seat, moving her arm in front of me to catch my attention. I blinked again and looked at her, nodding and hurrying to catch up with her.

"So… how was it?" She asked eagerly as we quickly made our way to our next class. "Did you talk to him? What's his name?" she giggled, throwing me a 'say something' look.

"Umm… we didn't talk much" I frowned to myself. "He just told me his name and, that's it"

"Well, maybe he's shy" she bit her lip and giggled.

_Nope, that's not quite it. But, I'll pretend it is… _and nodded thoughtfully.

"Isn't he gorgeous? He totally looks like a super-model, doesn't he?" she said excitedly. _More like a marble Greek God. _I suppressed a smile.

"I guess so…" I said nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders a little.

"YOU GUESS SO?!?!" Sophie made an abrupt stop and turned to look at me, her eyes wide and her voice low but with a hint of outrage. I've never seen her like this, it was quite comical, really, and a bit scary. "Kristen!!! You sat next to HIM! You can't possibly tell me you weren't DROOLING ALL OVER!!!" she shot me a very dangerous 'come on' look. I suppressed another smile.

"Yes, Sophie. He is gorgeous" I sighed once more.

"Aha! See, I knew it…" she smiled back, "So, what's his name?"

"Edward Cullen" just saying his name made my heart jolt.

"Edward Cullen. Nice." she licked her lips and smacked them together. "Hm. I think I'm_ really_ going to enjoy Biology this semester" she smiled devilishly.

I rolled my eyes "I'll see you after English"

"Ok. Maybe _Edward _will be in one of _my _classes and I get to sit next to him. Wish me luck!" she winked at me, mockingly.

"Alright! Good luck!" I laughed out loud and walked towards English. _What if he is in my next class?_ My stomach made a nervous summersault. I peeked through the classroom's door but didn't see him. I sighed in relief. _I didn't know if it was relief or sadness._

"Kris! Good morning" Adam's greeting made me jump. "I see you made your way to class all by yourself" he smiled mockingly.

"Well, Sophie just left a second ago. She walked with me…" I shot him a wide smile.

"Shall we?" he showed me the way and I went inside, followed by him. "Hey, I've been checking the weather cast, and there are strong showers expected for tomorrow early" he frowned, taking his seat while I sat next to him.

"Oh, man. Well, guess we are going to have to work on plan C" I sighed, taking out my notebook.

"Plan C? What happened to plan B?" he eyed me playfully, a smile on the corner of his lips.

"Mmm… I don't know really. Must be really bad, since we skipped it" I chuckled and so did he.

We began talking about possible alternatives, when I looked up again and saw her gracefully walk through the door of the classroom, making her way towards where Adam and I sat. She looked straight at me, a stunning-familiar smile on her lips, and then, she sat down in front of me.

_Alice._

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**N/A So**** here are the beautiful Cullens; and Kristen's world would be tupsy-turvy from now on.**

**Let the magic begin.**

**Please review :) **

**xoxo**


	8. The Cullen charm

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight of any of the Twilight Characters, all of them are creation of the author Stephanie Meyer. **

**Kristen and the rest of the new characters are of my creation.**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**7.**** "The Cullen charm"**

"Do you know her?" Adam's whispered, while his mouth hung open, completely gawking at Alice, who gave me a stunning-friendly smile before taking the seat in front of me.

"N-No" I answered perplexed. _Why did she smile at me? _I was trying to remember if I smiled at her first, but, soon realized that I didn't.

"Well, it seems that she knows _you_" he whispered again, never tearing his eyes from her back.

"Maybe she confused me with somebody else" It was the only logical explanation I could think of. She smiled at me as if she knew me for a really long time or as if we were real good friends.

The gesture didn't really bother me, it's just that, well, it was _strange._

_The only time I saw her was in the parking__ lot this morning before class. Hmm… but we didn't say a word to each other. _My thoughts fells upon Edwards gaze and millions butterflies flutter around in my stomach once more. I shivered a little.

My mind continued to run free, thinking of a reason why she acted the way she did. _Get a hold of yourself Kristen! It was just a smile… you've gotten some smiles from other kids too! It doesn't have to mean anything. Maybe she's trying to be nice, that's all. _But, there was something about Alice's smile that just didn't seem to be simple smile at all… it was as if she_ knew_ something.

Everybody was completely aware of the newest student in the classroom. The same thing happened with Edward during Biology, there were tons of curious and nosy glances thrown towards the seat where Alice Cullen sat. She didn't seem to mind, though. She just opened her notebook and began sketching something in it. I couldn't quite see what she was doing, since she had her back towards me, but, I noticed that her smooth white hand continue to move in different patterns carelessly.

"So… what about plan C?" Adam's cool voice caught my attention. I turned towards his side, and blinked to focus.

"Huh? Oh, I-I haven't thought about anything good, really" I sighed "We'll think of something. Hey, there's always next weekend, right?" I tried to sound encouragingly.

"Yeah. I guess…" his answer had a hint of disappointment.

Class drifted away like any other. Adam kept making small talk between the teacher's instructions, giving some possible ideas for Plan C, but, they weren't very convincing at all. So we decided to drop all possible solutions and rain-check our little trip for next week, hoping that the weather would cooperate this time. _Why did it have to rain so much?_

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't notice myself tapping my pencil on the notebook repeatedly; I've must have tapped it really hard because, suddenly, it flew out of my hand and landed next to Alice's bag, which was on the floor.

"Oooops!" my cheeks turned pink. _What's with you today? _"Sorry" I heard myself apologize as I began to move out of my place to try and reach for it.

"Hey, don't worry" Alice's silvery voice said smoothly while her long thin fingers picked the yellow object from the floor. "Got it" she turned to me. "Here" she said, handing me the pencil, another smile on her lips.

"Thanks" I sighed a little annoyed with myself, but returned the friendly smile to her. It felt nice, natural.

"No problem" she said once more.

"Butter-fingers" I heard Adam chuckle under his breath and I jerked my head in his direction and threw him a dark look. He hunched his shoulders and suppressed another laugh.

"I'm Alice" she spoke again while she rearranged her position on her seat, completely facing us this time. I turned my eyes towards her white figure and felt her intent gaze on mine. It wasn't as electric or intimidating as her brother's; it was more friendly, kind. It amazed me how both of them shared the same honey-gold shade of eye color, but in some way, Edward's seemed a bit darker, deeper.

"Um, I-I'm Kristen and this here" I titled my head in Adam's direction "is my friend Adam". I noticed that Adam blushed a little once Alice looked at him. _Ha! He blushed! He's so not going to hear the end of it…_

"H-Hi" he gulped nervously.

This time it was I who suppressed a laugh. I've haven't had the chance to see Adam nervous before, he was always so… bold. I didn't blame him, though. Alice Cullen was just as breathtakingly beautiful as her brother. There was something quite unreal about both of them, really; they were just too perfect.

But, still, Alice seemed to be less careful and reserved than Edward; she acted more openly, curious. I felt at ease with her around. _Huh, strange._

"So, Alice…" I finally spoke, catching her attention again, and freeing Adam from her stare. I thought I saw him sigh in relief. My lips twitched again."What do you think of your new school?"

"It's ok, I guess. Less crowded" she said smoothly, "I like that"

"Yeah, me too" I admitted. Somehow, Forks High was much smaller than the average schools I've been to. At least you had a chance to know all of the students and for them to know you. I'm not sure if it was such a good thing, though, since I was living in such a tiny town. I grimaced a bit. _No privacy around here._

"Alice" Adam spoke again, confidence in his tone once more. He placed his arms crossed on his desk and leaned in a little, interest in his face "how do you manage to stay this calm on your first day of school?"

"I guess I got used to it" she smiled to herself. "My family moves around a lot. It's not that difficult to adjust once you get it going" she exposed her beautiful pearly teeth while she grinned.

"How was your last school?" Adam continued with his interview, not blinking at all. I just couldn't help it, I tried to control my laugh again. He was completely dazzled by her. _Amazing! She possesses the same effect as her brother._

"Cold" she giggled. We stared at her for a second and she replied to our unspoken question "We lived in Anchorage, Alaska for almost two years before we came to Washington. So, it was freezing-cold"

"Colder than here?!" I asked outraged. She nodded and I shuddered. I don't think I could handle a place like that. I mean, I could barely survive here!

"Well, I have to hand it to you Alice" Adam spoke once more. "You are doing a really good job keeping it cool" he threw me an impish grin and I squinted my eyes at him.

"Oh?" she looked at me. "Suddenly I have the feeling that my brother and I aren't the only new kids in school" her lips twitched a little. I sighed.

"Yeah, well… Monday was my first day… " I threw another glare to Adam, who chuckled even louder.

"I bet it wasn't that bad" Alice said cheerfully, but I just dropped my eyes to my hands and nodded.

"You should have seen her once she got to school grounds…" he chuckled again "She looked as lost as a stray kitten."

"Ha-ha" I said bitterly as I began to blush. I heard Alice giggle too.

"She kept glancing everywhere nervously…" he continued "her eyes were round like a scared deer" he muffled his quiet laugh with his hand.

"I wasn't scared, Adam" I hissed at him, my lips twitching too, but I pretended to be upset "I just didn't know where I was supposed to go!" I said in my defense.

Alice and Adam kept chuckling and I sighed, defeated.

"So much for counting on your friends" I sighed, annoyed. "HEY! So, if you were there all along, WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU COME TO HELP ME SOONER?" I glared at him this time.

"You just looked so darn cute just standing there looking all confused" his tone was mocking, and I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Ah, come on Kris, I didn't let you suffer THAT much" he said smoothly.

"Yeah, well…" I muttered.

"Well, Kristen. I think you are doing just fine right now, wouldn't you agree Adam?" Alice came in my defense, which I totally felt grateful for. She gave him a little look and Adam was off my back, just grinning at her silly.

"I guess so" he admitted still in a haze and I threw Alice a thankful look. She winked at me. I couldn't help but smile.

The teacher called out for our attention once more, I've totally forgotten we were still in class. Adam didn't tease me anymore after that. I knew he wasn't trying to be mean or anything really, it's just that today, I felt kind of weird today… like, I wasn't myself or something.

Once class ended, we gathered our stuff and began walking out of the room. Adam continued chatting animatedly about our climbing trip that was rain-checked for next weekend and Alice seemed to be interested in the topic as well. "Wow, I didn't know you were into extreme sports" her eyes widened. Adam threw me a 'told you' look, I just rolled my eyes at him again.

"Well, if the weather's dry and you don't have plans for the weekend…maybe you'd like to join us" I said coolly. _You could even invite your brother. _I smiled at the thought.

"I'll have to check. I think I have a shopping date with my sister next weekend…" she said a little uncertain "but, if not. I'm in" her grin was wide.

"Alright, cool" Adam said pleased.

We continued to walk through the hall, making way for our next class. Alice and Adam shared Spanish, I could tell by the look on his face that the fact made him really, really happy, and it was my turn to be by myself in Calculus. It was the only subject I didn't share with Sophie or Adam. _Hope I don't get lost again._

"Alice…" spoke a smooth, velvety voice from behind us. I froze in place, while my heart began to speed up and my knees to wobble. _Edward._

"Oh, hey bro…" Alice turned around to face his brother cheerfully. Adam turned to look at Edward once Alice spoke. I just took a little more time to turn around; I was trying to control my heart that was threatening on bursting out of my ribcage. _How could this boy have this effect on me?_

Once I turned around completely, I slowly began lifting my eyes from the floor until I reached his face while my cheeks turned slightly pink. I didn't dare look at him straight in the eyes, so I lingered upon his lips. _Bad idea! _They were so alluring, full, kissable. _Gulp! _They twitched a little, so I instinctively met his gaze; static shocked me entirely once again. His eyes weren't so intimidating this time, they were more… _curious_? He still didn't smile or show any other emotion whatsoever, but there was something there. I didn't understand. He quickly looked away and concentrated on his sister once she spoke.

"Edward? These are Kristen and Adam" she looked at us and then to her brother "we're together in English class" she said quietly.

Edward nodded politely once, looking at Adam and then at me, but didn't say a word. "Hey, man" Adam greeted him. My eyes fell on my hands, which began playing with the zipper of my jacket.

"Alice, could I speak with you?" his voice was calm, but there was a hint of haste in it, I thought. He swiftly took two steps back, breaking away from our small group.

"Sure" she answered and turned to look at us. "I'll catch up with you guys later, ok?" she said happily and followed her brother.

"Alright!" Adam called out and pated me on the shoulder "Hey, let's go! We'll be late for class!" and began to walk, I tried to followed as I could. Suddenly, my feet didn't want to cooperate.

Before I could stop myself, I stole a quick glance before I turned in the corner and lost him from view; I met Edward Cullen's gaze just for another long, agonizing second, and then, he looked away, while continuing to speak to his sister, who had her back towards me.

"… but I didn't see that coming, so… Um, Kristen?" Adam's voice caught my attention from the haze "You ok?" he looked at me with a worried expression. "You appear to be a little off or something" he eyed me again.

"Yeah, guess I'm just tired. I need to sleep, badly" I chuckled.

"Sure you don't feel sick?"

I shook my head and smiled a little. I'm sure he didn't buy it, but he said nothing about it. Adam continued to glance worriedly at me, but I pretended not to notice.

We stopped at the entrance of Calculus "Guess this is where I step off" I waved at him goodbye, relieved. "Thanks for the ride" I chuckled.

"Ok. See you at the cafeteria, then" he shook his head chuckling and made way for the next building.

I walked through the door of Calculus and made my way towards the farthest corner of the room. No one ever used last two seats from where I usually sat, so, I was rather fond of this little gift of privacy. I smiled to myself, pleased. Not that I didn't enjoy talking to Sophie or Adam during class at all, it's just that, I needed to take a breath… I was completely exhausted and in no mood of exchanging conversation within the next 50 minutes.

I quickly took out my notebook and began skimming through yesterday's class-work, trying to refresh my memory of what we worked on. Then, something on the corner of my eye pulled my attention and made me look up from what I was doing. _Unbelievable!_

Edward Cullen had just walked in. I just stop breathing, literally. I immediately dropped my head, placing eyes on my notebook once more and pretended not to have noticed him, though I continued to blush. _Stupid blood on cheeks. Ugh! Why am I blushing?_

I didn't dare look up to see in which direction Edward Cullen headed, _Sit on the front row! Please, please, please sit on the front row!_ I quietly begged in my head, I just couldn't have him near me. Not that it bothered me, it's just that I didn't understand anything when he was close; everything went blurry, fussy, confusing, suffocating.

I noticed that my eyes were tightly shut when I popped them open once I heard the seat behind me make a moving sound._ Gasp!_

_Why in the world, from all the empty seats in this particular classroom does he have to take the one that's BEHIND me?! Wasn't he aware of the effect he caused on me? Why was he taunting me like this?_

I completely froze in my seat while I took a deep, slow breath and tried to clear my head that had begun spin. An alluring scent surrounded me suddenly. I wasn't sure if it was cologne, but I knew that it belonged to the boy sitting behind me. It was a mixture of velvet-tuberose, sunshine and mint; I couldn't quite describe it, but I found it just intoxicating. I slowly closed my eyes and inhaled once more, savoring the fragrance with the tip of my tongue. I licked my lips and smiled. _Delicious._

I sighed once more.

_If he chooses not to speak to me, then, I wont say a word to him. I've already tried… _I grimaced while slowly pulling my head up; class had already started with out me being aware of it. _Huh… when did the teacher get here?_

I was doing it again, I was loosing track of time. I tried to listen to what Mr. Field was saying, but I just couldn't keep up with him. I had no idea what the lesson was about!I was beginning to feel really irritated with myself, this was getting out of hand. _I just can't allow to loose my grip like this every time he's near me. _I grinded my teeth together, and pulled myself out of the fog that surrounded my thoughts and tried with all my might to understand the last 20 minutes of class.

There wasn't much progress in me, though. I kept fighting the urge to take a small glimpse over my shoulder just to make sure that Edward was there at all; he was oddly quiet, no scribbling on notebook, no changing pages of a book, no shifting weight on his seat, no coughing, nothing. _Maybe he's not even behind you Kris, you are probably imagining things. _Then I heard a low chuckle behind me. _Yep, he's still there. _I smiled, a little pleased, which surprised me.

As the teacher began writing on the board, the only bright idea I could come up with was to copy everything down on my notebook. _Hope it makes some sense when I read again at home. _I grimaced, as I looked for my pen, that wasn't on top of my notebook where I left it. _Great, lost my pen… _

I shook my head annoyed and I looked under my notebook, then turning slightly on my right side to scan the floor and see if I had dropped it, but it wasn't there either. I sighed, I was about to turn on my left side to do the same, when a smooth white hand held my pen in front of me.

"You dropped this" his velvety voice spoke softly. I stared at the pen for a second, and carefully took it from his long pale fingers.

"Thank you" I said shyly while peeking over my shoulder and blushing immediately.

"You're welcome" he replied quietly, his tone amiable. With the corner of my eye, I saw him give me a small smile, so, I smiled back, but still didn't dare to look at him. He didn't say anything else, so I faced the board and began writing whatever gibberish was written there.

A small smile played on my lips; I couldn't comprehend why I was smiling, but I just was.

Class came to an end with Edward not saying a word. Once the bell rang, I began gathering my books to place them inside my backpack a little slower than usual, as if waiting for something. I was still on my seat, afraid that my knees would be shaky; I had no intention on tripping at all.

Guess I was a bit distracted that I didn't notice my pen falling on the floor, _again_. I heard an amused chuckle and with the corner of my eye, I saw Edward pick it up and then squatted in front of me, his glorious face at the level of mine. He seemed less tense, his eyes were light, curios once more.

I held my breath. I wasn't expecting this reaction from him.

"You should really hold on to this" he shook the pen swiftly between his fingers, a small mocking smile on his delicious lips, "it's nice" his tone soft.

My ears grew hot and my cheeks were prickling. "Thanks" I smiled. "I keep dropping stuff lately" I shook my head and took it from him. He chuckled again and then stood up, but he didn't move. I was expecting him to leave, but for some strange reason, he didn't.

"Ladies first" his purring voice sent a tingly sensation to my ears. He made a movement with his hand, showing me the way so I would walk out first. It took me a second to react, but I slowly stood up, threw my backpack strap over my shoulder and began walking a little shakily.

_Please don't trip. Please don't trip._

I felt him walking behind me. I didn't get it, but decided to let it go. I still held the pen in my hand, and when I felt it there, I chuckled quietly to myself and shook my head.

"What?" Edward asked while we walked out the door and began crossing the hall slowly. He was on my left side, but still not looking at me.

"It's just that…" I said, a bit confused by his unexpected interest, "my friend called me butterfingers earlier when I dropped something" I smirked. "Guess he was right" I squeezed the pen in my hand. _How could I keep dropping things?_

"Do you drop objects frequently?" He tilted his head in my direction, looking at me.

"I guess… I've never really noticed it until today" I grimaced, remembering the pencil that landed on Alice's bag.

His lips twitched and so did mine.

"Maybe there's something diverting your attention" he looked away, his lips still twitching but his tone nonchalant.

_Yeah. You! _

"Guess I'm just tired" which it wasn't a complete lie. "I haven't been sleeping well…" I shuddered once I remembered the images from last night's nightmare and felt Edward stiffen by my side.

"Kristen!!!" Sophie's voice made me focus again. She was walking towards us along side with Rachel, whom eyes popped out once she saw Edward.

"Hey" I gave them a wry smile.

"I should find Alice" Edward looked at me for a second "Bye" and walked away.

"Bye" I called out softly, my eyes falling to the ground.

Sophie and Rachel gawked at him as he walked away from me, then they turned around to face me. "Who was that?" Rachel asked still drooling a bit.

"Was Edward Cullen walking with you?" Sophie asked amazed and intrigued. "What did he say?" she asked excited again. _Here we go._

"Apparently we are also sharing Calculus" I said coolly.

"Agh. You are so lucky…" Sophie moaned playfully. "I got to sit next to him in History and he didn't even look at me once" she sighed. "Of course, I kept gawking at him like an idiot. Maybe he noticed" she smiled broadly.

"Maybe…" I chuckled.

The interrogation about my class and walk with Cullen continued until we made it to the cafeteria. Once we got there, I saw Justin, Adam and Steven already sitting at our usual table. Adam waved at us so we would join them. After getting our lunch, we headed towards our table and sat down. Guess we were all excited that the first week of term was over and that it was Friday. Everybody kept talking about different topics at the same time, which it was sort of confusing for me, because my sleepless nights were in some way paying their price. I kept yawning every five minutes.

"You have to tell me everything, Kris" Sophie whispered to me once Rachel turned around to give Justin a kiss on the cheek. I nodded sheepishly.

I stood up to throw away the trash and placed my tray back, when the cafeteria's door swung open and the four Cullens came to view. The beautiful blond girl and her big boyfriend held each other's hand and were talking so low all you could hear were whispers. She giggled at something he said and kissed him. Followed by them were Edward and Alice who were, I guess, in a quiet discussion. He kept shaking his head at his sister and she stuck her tiny little tongue at him, frowning. It was so endearing, that I just couldn't help but laugh to myself.

Then, Alice looked at my way and gave me a huge smile, waving. I waved back, stunned. _How did she know where I was?_ The cafeteria wasn't huge, but, there had to be at least 300 students in here.

Edward looked at me as well, his face expressionless, and then looked away, following the others who took the furthest table in the room. They four of them sat and continued with their conversations. I noticed that none of them had a tray of food, which was odd. _Guess they're not hungry._

I made my way back to my table and sat down. I was beginning to feel sleepy, so I folded my arms on the table and rested my head on them, closing my eyes.

"Kris, come on" Sophie shook me awake, I groaned and she giggled. "Come on, two more hours and you're free" she shook me again.

I groaned once more and managed to get up from the table. My eye lids felt really heavy, I couldn't open my eyes yet. Sophie clapped her hands twice, way too loudly, in front of me, which made me jump and pop my eyes fully open. I growled at her annoyed.

"Sorry" she said smiling "but you need to be awake in order to walk. I can't carry you to our next class".

The cafeteria was almost empty, I quickly scanned for the Cullens, but there weren't here anymore. "They left like five minutes ago" Sophie said coolly. I looked at her and she winked at me. "He seemed to be a little worried about you once he saw you've passed out on the table" she smiled broadly. I blushed but didn't say anything. We headed for our next class, Sophie trying to keep me awake all the way. She was a good friend.

There were still two long hours to go… hope I'd survived.

_**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**_

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me too long to post. Been sort of buzzzy as a bee ;) teehee!**

**Kristen has been charmed by both Cullens, which confuses and allures her. Alice is so endearing and Edward is so... complicated. (sigh)  
**

**Please review :)**


	9. The bonfire

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight of any of the Twilight Characters, all of them are creation of the author Stephanie Meyer. **

**Kristen and the rest of the new characters are of my creation.**

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**8. "Bonfire****"**

Last period was finally over and I felt really drained. Sophie and I walked towards our lockers when we bumped into Adam, who joined us. They began comparing and complaining about the annoying mount of homework our dear teachers gave us for the weekend and somehow were relieved that the climbing trip was postponed for next week, 'cause they weren't gonna have enough time to finish. I just heard them talk, while I just tried to make it to my car. _I need to sleep!_

Once outside in the parking lot I noticed that the silver Volvo was still there parked next to my jeep. I couldn't help but smile just a little.

Then, something else caught my attention. There was someone leaning casually on the bumper of my Jeep. Wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, smooth hair, a beautiful smile, and looking as taller as ever, was my good friend, Jacob Black.

I laughed and shook my head "Jacob" _Guess he's as eager as I am._

Adam and Sophie looked at me then at Jake, who stepped away from my car and folded his arms across his chest, smiling and waiting for me to meet him.

"_That's _your friend Jacob?" Sophie asked interested "he's cute" she whispered quietly and Adam shot her a glare. I just giggled. He was indeed good looking, I had to admit. But he was my friend, and I couldn't think of him like that, could I?

"Come on, I want you to meet him" I said and walked even faster, and they followed me to my car.

"Mr. Black" I said casually "to what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and decided to stop bye and say hi to a really dear friend of mine" his eyes sparkled, giving me a mocking smile. "But, I think she just left…" he looked forward, as if watching somebody leave.

I squinted my eyes at him and he chuckled huskily. "Guys, this is my friend Jacob Black" I stepped next to him, "Jake, these are Sophie and Adam".

They exchanged handshakes. "Well, I better get going. Tons of homework to do" Adam said curtly, something seemed to upset him all of a sudden. "See you guys on Monday" and he spun around and made way towards his pickup, avoiding my eyes.

"I should go too. It was really nice meeting you, we should hang out sometime" Sophie said smiling broadly to Jake. "Adam, wait up!" she called and ran to catch up with him.

I turned to face Jake, who had a pleased expression on his face. I eyed him suspiciously "Your neighborhood and mine are 20 minutes apart, so…" I couldn't finish my nagging because I was being crushed by a joint-breaking bear hug from Jacob.

"I couldn't wait until tonight. I missed you terribly" his husky voice boomed in my ear.

"Can't. Breathe. Jake" I gasped for air, he loosened his hold on me just a little. "I think I heard something crack!" I said giggling. I was really happy to see him too. He put me down again and tousled my hair like he always did and took my backpack from me.

"Why are you really here? Come on, be honest" I teased, squinting my eyes at him for the second time.

"Billy went fishing with Harry Clearwater, he won't be back until Sunday" he said coolly.

"So, there's no food in your house…" I deduced and he grinned sheepishly.

"Not a crumb" his hand replaced a loosen thread of hair behind his left ear.

"Ah. I see" I folded my hands, accusingly. I knew where this was going.

"I was thinking that _maybe_ you wanted to invite your best friend for lunch" it sounded more like a pleading question than a statement. I raised my eyebrows at him, and he continued. "Lily has been bragging to Billy that you make the best enchiladas ever… and I wanted to see if she was telling the truth"

_I knew it! _"So, you want enchiladas…" I stared at him, serious and he tensed for a few seconds. I sighed trying to sound exasperated and rolled my eyes at him. "Sounds good to me!" I laughed.

"Swe-et" he relaxed and shot me a thankful look.

"But, um, I have to stop by the store to get some things first" I pulled the keys out of my jacket "and you owe me BIG time for this Jake" I teased.

"Ok" he grumbled. "Hey, why don't I drive?" he said taking the keys from my hand.

"Where's your car?" I asked, realizing that I hadn't seen his truck anywhere.

"Sam gave me a ride here. My truck practically died on me yesterday, so I'm working on the motor" he said casually as he walked and opened the passenger's door, helping me inside.

"Hmm, still a gentleman…" I teased.

"I keep telling you, I'm just full of surprises" he spoke smugly while he closed the door. I shot him another playful glare, and saw his expression change from amusement to worry.

"Whoa, honey! How long's it been since you slept right?" he whispered as he concentrated on the dark circles under my eyes.

"A while" I looked away, embarrassed. I heard him sigh, and ran to the other side of the jeep, getting in and starting the ignition.

"Nightmares?" his tone still worried. I nodded grimacing, avoiding his eyes.

I peeked through the window while Jake put the jeep in reverse. I saw the Cullens walking towards their cars. Alice and Edward were already at the Volvo. Edward quickly glanced at Jake and then to me, his piercing gaze made me shiver. There was something in his eyes that sort of confused me once more, he didn't seem as friendly as he was in Calculus. _What changed? _Alice gave me a small smile; I felt my lips just pull into a line.

I looked away, confounded and completely exhausted. _I'll worry about that later, _I grimaced. I reclined the passenger's seat in order to feel more comfortable, yawning deeply as my eyes watered.

"You have to do something about this Kris. It isn't healthy for you" I felt his warm hand on my cheek, his index finger tracing the dark shade under my eye. The caress felt soothing, it made me relax. I closed my eyes.

"There isn't much I can do about it Jake…" I heard myself speak as I quickly drifted away into unconsciousness.

* * * * * * *

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" I chocked on my scream, my arms and legs trashing from one side to the other. I gasped for air, popping my eyes open; my ears were ringing with the vivid growl from my nightmare. My forehead was covered in sweat and my lashes were damp with tears. It took me several seconds to assure myself that I was no longer asleep, as my breathing returned to normal. _You're awake. You're awake._ I sighed in relief.

The smell of tomato sauce and onions assaulted my nose; I heard another growl, but this time it came from my stomach, which was demanding to be fed. I shook my head and looked around, but didn't recognize the room I was in. _Where am I?_ I thought to myself, still shaky; there was no light, and all I could see was the beautiful full Moon that shyly poke through the drape-less window. The soft thick quilt that covered me and the bed I lay weren't mine, so this must meant that I wasn't home. I tried to remember what had happened earlier, and then I heard something that brought it all back.

"Aw, shoot" Jake's annoyed voice cursed somewhere from behind the door. Then I heard a loud _clang_ and the soft crackling of something on fire. _Sounds like he's cooking. _I smiled a little.

_Guess I'm in Jake's room_, I sighed, pleased to know that I wasn't alone. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I began to feel scared. My whole frame shook, and I felt terrified to look through the window. In less than 10 seconds, I got up and ran out the dark room. The quick movement made me loose my balance, so I held on to the door knob of Jake's room. I took in a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I could see Jacob's tall figure in the kitchen, stirring something in the stove. He didn't notice I was there, until I spoke.

"Need any help?" I asked still trembling a little.

He turned around from the stove and gave me a huge smile. "Hey, you're up! Nah, I'm good. Hope you're in the mood for spaghetti with tomato sauce and veggie soup" he made a face while reading a canned soup he had on the counter.

My stomach growled, desperately. "Sounds delicious. I'm starving" It was amazing how at ease I felt once I was in Jake's presence. I immediately felt my nerves begin to calm. I walked to the counter, opened one of the drawers and took out the cutlery and a pair of dishes.

"How long was I out?" I asked a bit embarrassed, while I began setting the table.

"For nearly 3 hours" he threw me an accusing look. "You gave me quite a scare, Kristen" he shook his head in disbelief, looking at me.

"At first, I thought you passed out on me or something. I shook you several times and called your name quite loudly, but you just didn't snap out of it" he looked at me with concern.

"Sorry" I grimaced.

"When I finally thought I should take you to the hospital, I heard you snore" he chuckled once. "That's how I understood that you were just dead-exhausted" his eyes became kinder, warm.

"Hey! I don't snore" I complained, feeling like my usual self again.

"Um, yeah… you do, actually" He laughed loudly. "My first thought was to take you to you home, but, you hadn't eaten anything and I wasn't sure you were in the mood for cooking so… I brought you here" he shrugged. "Hope you don't mind"

"Thank you" I said gratefully.

"No problem. You still owe me the enchiladas, though" he teased, turning the oven off and beginning to pour the soup in two bowls.

"I know. I'll make it up to you, I promise" I crossed my heart.

Once food was on the table, we began eating. The pasta was quite good, and the veggie soup had its own special flavor. Jacob didn't seem to like it that much, so he just went directly to the spaghetti he proudly cooked by himself. Billy used to do all the cooking in this house, so I felt flattered that Jake went through all this trouble for me.

We cleared the table and I offered to wash the dishes as a 'thank you' for the meal. And then, we sat down at the sofa and turned on the T.V. Jake flickered through the channels, not really paying attention to any of them. He gave me the impression his mind was somewhere else.

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself, Kris" he suddenly spoke. I turned to look at him, overwhelmed by his words. His eyes were full of apprehension.

"If there was anything worrying you, you'd tell me, right?" his voice was anxious, his forehead creasing a little. "No matter what it was, you'd tell me, right?' he insisted.

I nodded and then looked away. _What did I…? Why was he worried like this? Unless he… no! Oh, God, no… _horror struck me, making my stomach churn and draining the blood from my face. My hands went cold. He kept staring at me, pretty sure he noticed my panicked expression.

Taking a quick breath, I tried to calm my hysterical heart. _Calm down, breathe._

"Jacob" I spoke as steadily as I could, but my voice shook slightly "I trust you more than anybody in this whole damn world…" I looked at him again. "I'm fine. Please don't worry about me. If there _was something_ then you'd be the first one to know" I gave him a small smile, trying to look reassuring. He didn't smile back, he only nodded.

"No matter what it is… I'm always here" his eyes were fervent. I held my breath. _What had he seen? _I grimaced at the thought.

Hw placed my hand on his and held it there, squeezing it reassuringly. Once again, the gesture didn't bother me at all. It continued to feel nice, normal. I felt safe. We didn't speak for the following minutes; I rested my head back in the edge of the sofa and closed my eyes. All those sleepless nights caught up on me once more.

"Maybe I should take you home. You need to rest" He said determined. These words made my heart begin to race. I cringed.

_Go home? Be alone?__ No! _

"No. I-I'm fine, really" I stammered nervously "Besides, it's almost time for the bone fire"

"I think you should rest, Kris. You're exhausted" his tone disapproving.

"Come on, I don't want to go home. Aunt Lily won't be home until 10:30" _I'm afraid of being alone. Please don't make me leave, I feel safer with you, please… _I guess he heard the panic in my voice and the silent pleading in my eyes, because he didn't insist in taking me home.

"We still have an hour and a half before the bone fire starts…" he looked at me "you should take another nap". _Fall asleep? In front of him? But what if…?_

He gave me a stern look while I hesitated and I understood that if I agreed to this deal, I would get to stay. In spite of myself, I nodded and internally pleaded that I wouldn't have another nightmare.

"Do you want to go back to my room?"

_No! _I cringed. 'The couch is fine" I whispered. He nodded and began to get up. "C-Could you stay with me? Please?" I panicked.

"I'm just going to bring you a blanket" he said smoothly and I nodded. He walked quickly into his room, coming back with the warm quilt I had earlier. He sat down next to me and threw the blanket over me.

"Now, sleep" he ordered.

I hesitated once more. My eyes mirroring my fears.

"I'll be right here" his eyes smoldered, holding mine. I felt a wave of calm spread through my body, and a 100 tons of weariness pressing down on me.

"What are you going to do meanwhile?" I asked dazed, while grabbing a cushion that I was going to use as a pillow and placing it next to Jake's waist, so that my head was close to him. The rest of my body was pulled in a small ball, under his quilt.

"I'm going to read the first two chapters I have for history homework" he said as he eyed my action and then smiled a bit.

"Ok" I yawned. "Wake me up when it's time to go" my lids dropping.

"Sure. Just don't snore ok? I'm trying to do my homework" he teased.

"I'll try" I said amused. And he chuckled quietly.

I tried to fall asleep but, tired as I was, I just couldn't do it. Images of my latest dream kept coming back, shaking me awake. I hoped Jacob didn't notice, as my cheeks grew hot. I quickly peeked through my hair to see what he was doing, and he continued to read.

I heard the soft drumming pattern of his heart against his ribcage; it was such a soothing rhythm that it slowly began rocking me to sleep. I decided to concentrate on that melody and nothing more. Now, the images on my head were about the times we've been together and all the things we've done. I felt my body relax and my hands loosen up from the fists they were balled into. I sighed, comfortable for once.

His fingers began going through the locks of my hair, stroking it carefully several times, then, brushing it away from my face softly. I felt the warmth of his hand as it rested on cheek, his coppery thumb caressing it lightly. I heard a frustrated sigh escape his lips. "I just wish I knew how to help you" he whispered to himself. The circular pattern he made with his thumb on my skin began pulling me into a deeper sleep.

"I'm here" was the last thing I heard before I knew no more.

*************************************

The bone fire ceremony had been very impressive. It was a celebration that welcomed the new moon. Billy and the other 'Quileute elders' as the called them, ignited the fire while chanting in their native tongue; blessing all that came from it with good vibes and well wishes. I felt honored to be witnessing this beautiful ceremony, it was something not everyone was allowed to see.

After the protocol, there was food. The elders gathered around the fire, while smoking their pipes and talking about things like the game and fishing. And the rest of the teenagers, mostly Jacob's friends, gathered around the table full of hot dogs and burgers and chips. After they were fully satisfied, which I clearly thought it would never happened. _These guys ate as if there was no tomorrow, _they got in the mood for a football match.

"Come on Kris, we are one player short!" Embry called out, throwing the ball to Quil, who got savagely tackled by Sam and Jacob in a loud crunch. _Ouch!_

"Mmmm… I don't know" I hesitated. These guys were huge and for what I could see, it could get quite dangerous out there.

"Once girls are playing, they aren't that rough. Believe me" Emily smiled at me. "Come on, it will be fun" she held her hand at me, inviting me to play.

"Well, as long as you're playing…" I said nervously and took off my jacket.

"Al right!" I heard Embry cheered loudly.

"Hey, Kris is in our team!" Seth shouted, giving me an enthusiastic high five. He was always high spirited and cheerful. He reminded me of Jake when he was his age.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Jake was on my side in an instant, "Maybe you should sit down" he said worried.

"I feel good, Jake…" and I did feel pretty good.

"Hey, hey, hey! JACOB!" Embry called out loudly, clapping his hands to catch his attention "Stop distracting our girl!! Evans' ours!!"

Jake shot him a glare and Embry gave a low whistle 'Man, what a temper' he mumbled.

"Are you sure?" he insisted and I rolled my eyes to him. "Ok" he pulled a lock of my hair and ran to meet his team

So, it was Sam, Seth, Embry and me against Emily, Jacob, Paul and Quil. _This will be interesting._

"Mmm… guys, I-I'm not such a good football player…" I began, but Seth cut me off.

"Don't worry Kris, you just catch the ball, avoid being crashed by any of these guys and score a touchdown… No biggy" he smiled broadly at me. "Al right! Lets go!" he ran to position.

I gulped loudly. "Right, no biggy" I repeated.

I heard a chuckle and met Jake's gaze. He winked at me and mouthed 'you are mine'. I shot him a glare and mouthed back 'you wish' and braced my self.

After the first 5 minutes of running around, and avoiding getting crushed by any of the guys, I was completely out of breath. I did manage to catch the ball, but immediately threw it to Seth once I saw Paul was running in my direction. Somehow, I've always been a bit intimidated by him; he looked a bit aggressive.

"Kris! Go long!" I heard Sam yell and I turned around, he was being cornered by Emily and Quil. He threw the football in my direction and I began to run, trying to catch it. I was too busy running that I didn't see where I was going.

"Hey!..." I heard Jake's voice and…

_WHAM!_

I was lying flat on my back with a pounding pain on my left cheekbone, my eyes were shut tight, feeling utterly dizzy. _What the hell was that?_

"Oh MAN!" someone yelled. "Is she _unconscious?"__ another worried yell._

_"Kris! KRIS!?" Jake's panicked voice on my side "Can you hear me? Kris?" he shook me slightly._

_"First the wrist and now this" I heard someone teased. QUIL._

_"SHUT UP!" Jake growled back. "Kristen?" he continued._

_"What happened?" I opened my eyes and flinched a little; the pain in my cheek kept pounding even harder when I spoke. "I don't remember a wall being in the middle of the beach?" I teased, as Jake helped me sit up straight. Everybody else relaxed and laughed._

_"Sorry honey. Y__ou crashed against my elbow" he grimaced._

"Hm. That explains it" I flinched again, as my fingers instinctively touched my cheek. "How bad is it?"

"Just a bit swollen" Emily said as she knelt down and inspected the injury. "Lets put some ice on it" she smiled and got up, walking towards the ice tray. "Jacob, bring her here" she called out.

"Come on Kris" he helped me up. "Can you walk? Or do you want me to carry you?" he said serious, still worried I guess. I went completely scarlet when Quil and Embry shot each other a mocking look; they followed Emily and Sam back to the bonfire, mumbling something and laughing.

"I can walk… I think" and my knees gave in, I held on to his hand.

"Here" I held my breath as Jacob placed his arm around my waist and then tossed my arm around his neck, pulling me closer, so I could get better support while I walked. "Did I hurt you?" he panicked again once he noticed I wasn't breathing.

"N-no" I stammered, my ears burning hot again.

"I am really sorry… I tried to avoid you, but, you ran into me and…"

"It's OK Jake. I'm fine" I smiled again. "This totally feels like a déjà-vu" I snickered and so did he.

"I'm beginning to think that I'm kind of dangerous for you" he half joked, half grimaced.

"Nah. I'm just accident prone" I glanced back to see his face. He wasn't smiling. "Come on! Don't feel bad. Eventually I'll get my revenge…" I said mockingly and his lips twitched, he turned around to meet my eyes.

"Promise?"

"Hell yeah! You have two in your account already, babe…" I giggled "You won't know what hit ya!"

Once we made it to the table, Emily gave me a plastic bag with ice cubes for my cheek and when my cheek was reduced to a reasonable size, she cleansed the cut with a q-tip covered in something brown, which stung a little, and placed a butterfly band-aid to help the small wound to close.

Out of the blue, it began to rain. "Come on!" Seth yelled and everybody began picking up everything and headed towards the cars. I cursed as I put on my jacket, trying to close it as quick as possible before I got all wet.

"You aren't fast enough like this… sorry!" Jake said seriously, and scooped me up and began running with me in his arms towards my jeep.

"Just don't fall, ok?" I panicked. The rocks could get quite slippery when they got wet. He began laughing. "I wont, don't worry"

By the time we were at my jeep, we were both soaked from head to toes. He placed me in the passenger's seat, turned on the ignition and turned up the heater. "I should take you home before the weather gets worse" and he got on the drivers seat.

I shot him a glare. "I can drive" I hated feeling all fragile and delicate.

"I'm not letting you drive like this, what if you pass out again?" he teased.

"How are you getting back if you are driving my car?" my tone a bit annoyed. "You are SO not walking in this rain?"

"I'll ask Sam for a lift" he said coolly. Before I could argue, he got out the car and few seconds later, he came back, his long black hair dripping and all over his face. "Sam's gonna follow us to your place" and pulled to the highway.

I didn't say anything, there was no point in arguing with him. It may look like he was being a total gentleman, but to me, he was just acting hard-headed. I knew he cared, but still…

I relaxed when we got home and saw that the lights were on. Jake parked my jeep behind Aunt Lily's car under the roof and helped me to the porch; Sam's car was at the drive way, waiting.

"Will you be ok?" he met my gaze, apprehension in his. It sounded as if he referred to my injury, but I knew he meant something else.

"Don't worry" I nodded slowly.

"I'm just a phone call away…"

"I know"

We didn't say anything else. He pulled me into a short, tight hug and then let go. He shot me another intense glance and then ran through the pouring rain to Sam's car. I waved goodbye, and went inside the house.

_He's worried._

_He knows._

"What happened now?" Aunt Lily's tone wasn't surprised, it was more like amused.

"Jacob" I half smiled "Again"

**____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

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	10. Two can play at this game

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight of any of the Twilight Characters, all of them are creation of the author Stephanie Meyer. **

**Kristen and the rest of the new characters are of my creation.**

* * *

"Hmm" Sophie's face became a little amused, I just rolled my eyes to myself and turned to look at her as we walked inside the classroom.

"What?" I didn't like it when she used that "hmmm" sound, it always made me nervous. It meant she was on to something, Sigh.

She smiled at me devilishly. "Curiouser and curiouser" she teased, her eyes resting on my injured cheek. I knew where this was going.

"Am I supposed to know what that means?" I asked a little annoyed. _Yep, she's on to something._

"I was just thinking that it was a bit strange that the last two injuries you've had recently somehow seemed to involve Jacob Black" she bit her lip trying to hide a smile, her eyes sparkling. _Ugh! There she goes again._

"I don't know where you're getting at" I squinted my eyes at her. _Don't you dare…_

"Oh, I think you do" she finally giggled "Don't you glare at me like that Kristen Evans" she teased, but I didn't smile. "I'm just saying that I don't blame you for getting distracted by him. He's totally hot" she said as-a-matter-o-factly.

"SOPHIE!" my groan sounded more like a whine; I was getting really tired of this conversation, she kept insisting of the subject sounding like a total ruined record.

"Come on Kristen, seriously"

"Jacob's my friend." I tried to sound as convincing and detached as I could possibly mustard. _Why didn't she get it?_

She stopped walking and held me by the shoulders, making me stop and look at her. "Just answer me this and I'll get off your back, I promise" she folded her arms in her chest as I braced myself. "Nothing? Nothing at all? No butterflies, no static, no weak knees, heart beating out of ribcage… ?" her tone was skeptical.

I shook my head "Jake's my best friend Sophie, you know that" I said weakly as I turned pink.

_Of course I feel something! Every time he's close, every time he looks at me, or smiles or holds my hand, I feel happy, safe, protected._ The special bond we shared was too precious for me, I was terrified to screw it up with anything else. Not that I was looking for it, but, still, the thought scared me silly. _I don't want to loose my best friend over a stupid fling!!!_

"Ok" she shrugged, squinting her eyes at me. "So, if he's just your friend…" she emphasized the word 'friend' making quotation marks with her fingers "you don't mind if I ask him out, do you?" she shot me a look that made me laugh.

"Of course not Soph, it's cool by me" But, in spite of myself, her question did bother me a little, but, I shoved that feeling away. _Kristen, he's your friend. Stop being so territorial. You're acting like a total guy._

"Excuse me" a chill ran down my spine once I heard the velvety voice softly behind me. I didn't dare turn around and meet it's owner, instead, I dropped my eyes and felt my cheeks turn red. It took me a few seconds to realize that Sophie and I were blocking the way to his seat. I blinked several times and then slowly, I noticed where I was. BIOLOGY and it meant only one thing: EDWARD CULLEN. _Gasp! _My cheeks flushed even deeper.

_Ugh! Hope he isn't in a bad mood today. _I grimaced as I moved out of the way to let him pass; the sweet-peppermint scent irradiating from him assaulted my nose, causing my knees to feel weak. With the corner of my eye, I saw him walk to the table and take his seat. He didn't look up towards our way, not that I expected him to do so; he pulled a book out of his backpack and began flipping the pages nonchalantly. I noticed that his face was unreadable, completely blank.

"So, is Jake dropping bye soon?" Sophie asked, with a little enthusiasm in her voice.

"I don't know…" I smiled, nervously rearranging my books in my arms. _Jake's so unpredictable. _ She threw me another mischievous look and I avoided her eyes, turning pink.

"So… nothing at all, huh? Then why did you blush?" she continued, folding her arms expectantly. I saw the boy in the last table look up, slowly placing the book on the table.

"Drop it Sophia" I said warningly, squinting my eyes. I wasn't really mad at her, it's just that she just wouldn't let it go. Her smile disappeared and her eyes popped opened in outrage as she heard the word flow menacingly through my lips. She totally hated when anybody called her that. "You asked for it" I muttered quickly, shrugging.

"Well, eventually, you'll admit it Kristen Evans!" she said trough her teeth "and when you do…" I just shook my head at her, tuning out the rest of the sentence that came out of her mouth as I waved goodbye, walking quickly to my seat. I heard her grunt.

"This conversation isn't over, Evans" she called out loudly.

_Admit what, exactly? Ugh, there's nothing going on between Jake and me… we are just friends. _An image of Jacob holding my hand came to my mind, and a warm feeling flew through the inside of my chest. _I think… Ugh. God, this is confusing. Just friends, just friends. _

_Besides, we jus__t hang out; there's never been any physical contact that could confuse our friendship with something else… right? _Then, another image of Jacob kissing my forehead and brushing my cheek with his thumb flew freely into my thoughts as I continued to walk to my seat. My heart stopped and I felt butterflies in my stomach as I remembered the heat of his lips in my skin. I began to feel dizzy and my cheeks were scarlet by now. _Ugh! Damn it! What if Sophie is right? _I grimaced.

"Good morning" I nonchalantly greeted the pokerfaced boy that sat motionless next to me who just nodded, but didn't say a word. His lips were in a thin line and his brows were joined together in a frown. There was obviously something bothering him, but, since we weren't in friend terms, I decided to not get involved.

I waited for him to greet back, but he didn't; he did stop changing the pages, though.

_So, he isn't talking again._ I thought exasperated. _Fine… wonder what's bothering him. Ugh, drop it Kristen, it's non of your business… _I took out my notebook as the teacher walked in and started giving back our latest papers. I began scribbling nonsense on the page, still thinking about conversation with Sophie and tried to push Jake out of my thoughts. I was beginning to feel nervous about my 'latest discovery'. I didn't want to screw it up with Jake; He meant so much to me… another jolt in my chest.

"Did you have a nice weekend?" his casual tone surprised me; it made me turn around and face him, forgetting the whirlwind of crazy thoughts that continued to fly inside my head, only for a few seconds.

He wasn't smiling, but, at least he was trying to be polite. As he met my gaze, my heart skipped a beat; his eyes were colder than last time at the parking lot, my stomach began to churn as they watch me intently. There was a hint of anger in them, but, the rest of his face continued to be at ease; it just didn't make sense.

"It wasn't so bad" I said quietly, though my palms began to sweat. I felt his golden eyes rest upon my scratched cheek, and I could swear I saw them turn auburn. Another chill ran down my spine, but this time it wasn't surprise, it was more like in alarm. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"You seem to have had a complication" his tone turned harsher now, he continued to look intently at my face. I began to feel rather intimidated by the piercing stare, but I decided to act coolly and not look away.

"Yeah, there was a little accident" I shrugged, trying to look at ease, though I didn't feel like it at all. His attitude made me uncomfortable, as if I've done something really wrong.

"What happened?" he didn't sound curious like Sophie; it sounded like he was performing a criminal interrogation or something. His frame was completely facing me now, his face hard and his pale fingers went rigid.

"I crashed while playing football…" my voice shook nervously as he continued to stare at me. The image of me colliding with Jake and then him picking me up, popped into my head. I flinched a little when I remembered the crash; Edward's hands balled into tight fists, I thought the knuckles would burst through his pale skin, but what made me gasp were his eyes, they turned completely dark.

"Why can't you be more careful?" he hissed furiously through his teeth, his fists went even tighter. I could see the veins in his forearms threatening to burst. I shook a little at the sight and then, my face grew hot. His tone was making me mad…

"Excuse me?" the first sign of irritation in my voice. _What the hell?_

"You aren't cautious enough…" he glared at me, his nose flaring.

"What?" I blinked, fuming. "It was just a scratch" my voice heated… "and, what's it to you anyways?" I glared back as my breathing picked up. _Who the hell does he think he is?_

He sighed exasperatedly and closed his eyes for a second, whispered something unintelligibly as he shook his head slightly, then, he turned away from me; he continued to flip the pages of his book with a little more force than he should as his hands trembled slightly. It looked like the poor book was going to be teared apart by his fingers in any second.

I just gaped at him, stunned and really pissed off. _What was THAT about? _My breathing was still fast, my whole frame shook in outrage and now MY hands were balled into fists. _UGH! What the hell is his problem?_ I turned away from Edward, and began copying what the teacher had written in the board; I was still fuming. He didn't speak a word and I didn't even want to look at him. My jaw was set in anger and I felt my eyes begin to water furiously.

_First he avoids me, then, he talks to me. When he seems to be normal again, he stops talking all of a sudden and THEN he begins interrogating me and makes me feel like IM some sort of a __GOD DAMNED CRIMINAL!!! WHAT THE HELL IS HIS PROMBLEM?!?! _

_I can't wait for this stupid period to be over, I cant stand having him near me if he's just going to be acting like a total jerk! _I couldn't quite get why I was so upset. It wasn't the questions he made, it was more of the way he spoke to me, as if disapproving my actions.

_But, who the hell is him to judge me!?!?! HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW ME, for Pete's sake!!! And it wasn't even a serious accident! I just crashed against Jacob's elbow… it wasn't like I went to the hospital for that or got stitches__ or became crippled for the rest of my life!! UGH!!!_

I kept writing aggressively in my notebook, and I guess I pressed the tip of my pen a little too hard, because it broke and the two drops of ink splashed across the paper. With the corner of my eye, I saw Edward's cheek twitch. I cussed angrily under my breath and began looking inside my backpack for a napkin or something to dry the ink and avoid a bigger mess, but I found nothing.

A smooth piece of tissue paper lay innocently next to my notebook, I assumed HE placed it there, so I simply ignored it as I teared the page from my notebook and crumpled it into a ball that landed inside my backpack. _Ill copy it later._

_So, you think you're charming, huh!? _I saw his forehead crease and the corner of his lip pull down a little. But I didn't care, I was so upset with him right now that I didn't even want to be near him at all. Class continued to drag on and I just wanted to get out of there as soon as I could.

Before the bell rang, he was on his feet and smoothly walking out the room. His shoulders were tight and his head hung a little, he spoke something to himself, it sounded something 'shouldn't interfere' but wasn't quite sure. Once he made it to the door, he didn't glance back like he always did, and I grimaced. I wasn't really expecting him to do so, but still, when he didn't, I felt sad.

"Hey, I'm sorry I kept pushing about Jacob and you" Sophie waited for me at the door, her face was a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry I called you Sophia" I said in a monotone way, still fuming a little. _Damn! Why is he so complicated?_

"Shhh shhhh!!! She looked around making sure nobody heard the unmentionable name.

We continued walking through the hall, my eyes darting from left to right, and really looking for him. My forehead was frozen in a crease and my lips were in a thin line. _Ugh!, if he DARES talk to me again he is soooo going hear me out! Who the hell does he think he is????…_

"Hey, I said I was sorry. What's with you?" she eyed me as an annoyed expression crossed her face.

"Nothing" I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. "It's not you. Oh, forget about it, ok? Ill talk to you later, I'm late for English" I waved at her and walked even faster towards the classroom. Sophie frowned at me "ok" was all she said.

Once inside class, I saw that Adam and Alice Cullen were already at their seats. Alice shot me a worried look as she took in my exasperated expression while Adam stared curiously at my damaged cheek; I could feel the question coming together in his head. _Oh for the love of God! You better not even start with me…_

"Kris… you ok?" Alice's voice was concerned.

"Fine" is said a bit harsh. _What the hell is wrong with your brother!?!?!?!?!_

"She aint much of a Monday person" Adam chuckled, his tone mocking. Before I could stop myself, I threw him a glare and his eyes went wide. "Sorry" he immediately apologized as he finally noticed my mood.

"You don't look ok" Alice continued to press on.

"I said I'm fine"

I saw both of them exchange a look and turned away from me and continued with their earlier conversation.

Class dragged on in a blur; I was so pissed off that couldn't focus at all. Edward Cullen seemed to have captured my attention AGAIN! What the hell did he want from me? I wasn't sure. _Maybe he wants me to drop out of school… I didn't get why he seemed so furious with me, I haven't done anything wrong. I've tried to be nice to him. Why couldn't he be like his sister? Alice is just so… nice and sweet. UGH!!_

"… did you?" I heard a distant voice.

I focused my eyes and noticed Adam facing me, a smirk on his lips. I shook my head to refocus once again "Um, What?" I asked dazed. I guess I wasn't as mad as before, my tone seemed lighter. Alice turned around to look at me once she heard me speak.

"I asked if you got into a cat fight or something?" his eyes sparkled devilishly as he pointed to my cheek.

"You wish" I half smiled "Nah. I went with Jacob and his friends to the bonfire on Saturday…" I noticed Alice's lips turn into a line "and while playing football, I crashed into Jake and got this" I touched my cheek, trying to sound nonchalant. What's with Alice?

"Since when do you play football?" Adam's tone was suspicious, his smile vanishing and turning into a frown.

"Mmm, since Saturday I guess. Apparently, I'm not a really good player"

Alice didn't say anything, her beautiful face blank, just looking at me. She had a strange expression, but, in no way was like her brother's. Which remind me…

"Alice? Did your brother wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?" My tone became annoyed; she blinked once, as if snapping out of trance, her eyes meeting mine.

"I don't think so. Why?" Her voice smooth.

"Because he seemed angry about something…" _because he almost bit my head off in Bio! That's why!_

"Hmm" she frowned "What did he say?"

"Nothing, forget about it" I sighed dropping it, I didn't want to sound like a little girl who went whining to her mom because a boy in her class was mean to her.

"What did he say?" she pressed on, this time, she seemed a little upset.

I heard a throat clear and Alice and I looked up "Miss Cullen? Miss Evans? …" the teacher called for our attention "Is there something you wish to share with the rest of the class?"

"No Sir" we both answered. I turned scarlet and Alice gave him a beautiful smile. He blinked nervously.

"V-Very well then…" he stammered "I-I suggest you turn back to work" and walked away. I suppressed a giggle and shook my head again_. She's done it again_, I shook my head in disbelief, a small smile on my lips.

Alice turned around and didn't say anything else, though, she kept throwing glances at me, I on the other hand, tried to pay attention to the subject, but still, couldn't focus.

_Darn Cullens!!__ It will be a miracle if I'm able to get decent marks on this term!!_ I sighed deeply, closing my eyes shut. The image of Edward Cullen's charcoal gaze made me gasp, popping my eyes open. Alice's head snapped back and looked at me, a questioning look on her face.

- - - - - - - -

The bell rang and we began walking out of class. Alice and Adam continued talking about our latest English assignment, but I couldn't join the conversation, since I had no idea what the hell they were talking about. Seriously, I was a mess when it came to homework. It was fairly embarrassing when I had to ask any of my friends for it, they always asked me things like 'Well, you were there, right? Didn't you hear what the teacher said? Weren't you pay attention at all?' I frowned and folded my arms across my chest.

Sophie caught up with our tiny group as we walked to next period.

"Hey" she greeted. Alice and Adam greeted her back enthusiastically, I just nodded.

"Still upset?" Sophie eyed me.

"No… Sorry. I'm being a total bitch, aint I?" I smiled sheepishly and she smiled back.

"Just a little. But don't worry. Apparently, bad mood is highly common today…" she shrugged.

"Oh? How come?"

"Well, Edward Cullen sat next to me in History" my heart began to speed up as she spoke "and he was practically fuming. I've never seen him like that before…" she shook her head. "Wonder what's up with him?"

"With who?" Alice asked innocently.

"Your brother, actually" Sophie answered.

"Ah" was all she said.

I looked away; I didn't want to be held responsible for the comment. I pretended to be looking for something inside left pocket.

"Why, what happened?" Alice asked again, her brows pulling together just a little. Nobody seemed to notice, but I did. I sighed silently and looked down, my feet moving impatiently. Alice shot me another questioning look and I looked away, avoiding her stare.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I've never spoken to him before. He just seemed as if he was about to start cursing at the top of his lungs or bite somebody's off… seriously, he was FURIOUS!!!" Sophie stared at Alice.

"Hey, we're all allowed to have our minutes of hysterics, once in a while, right?" I asked grimly, avoiding their gaze.

"I guess so…" Sophie shrugged "We should get going… see you at the cafeteria" Sophie began walking to her next class.

"Al right, lets go Kris" Adam tugged me by my jacket. "Alice, what's… Hey! Alice!?" he looked at her as she gracefully spun around and began making way to a different direction.

"Excuse me guys, I need to talk to someone" I saw her gridding her teeth, but she spoke in a sweet, cool tone.

When I saw where she was heading, I felt a bucket of cold water fall down on me… I cursed silently. In the middle of the hall, was the tall, intimidating frame of Edward Cullen. His arms folded on his chest and his jaw clenched, his eyes hard and cold. At first, I thought he was looking at Alice as she approached him, but, then, I caught my breath when I noticed it was ME he was furiously glaring at. My first reaction was to look away, but I decided to stand on my ground, so… I got my act together and glared back. _Two can play at this game…_

Well, it wasn't a glare really. It was more like a mixture of confusion and a shade of a glower that I managed to plaster on my face. We weren't so far apart, maybe like five feet.

"Hey, Evans. Come on…" Adam he tugged me once again "what's with you today? Are you ok?"

I didn't answer but automatically began walking, not braking eye contact with Cullen. I was at least a foot away, when Alice pulled hard on his sleeve and made him move. "A word" she said, pushing him out of our way. I heard a menacing sound come from his lips, it was some sort of a growl, "Now!" her tone authoritative.

He closed his eyes and began walking next to her. I lost them from view, my frame shook slightly. I continued to walk, not really paying attention to where I was heading, numb.

"… and I finished it like at 3 am" Adam's voice sounded distant. "So, it's yours done?" I had no idea what he was talking about, I stared at him. He sighed a little annoyed, and rolled his eyes. "Trig?" his brow rose a little.

"Trig…" I blinked. "Oh, I mean, yeah. It's done. I-I finished it yesterday. Really late" I tried to sound convincing, as if I was following the conversation.

"Could I see it? I have some doubts in the last part…"

"Um, yeah, sure" I instantly began searching for the paper, but couldn't find it. GASP! "Damn! It's not HERE!" I panicked "I-I remembered checking it in the morning…" I closed my eyes trying to remember what I've done with the stupid paper.

"Maybe you left it in the car" he tried to calm me down.

"The car!" I slapped my face with my palm and winced when my cheek gave a little jolt of pain. "How much time do I have?"

"Mmmm… like 2 minutes" he checked his watch. "Go!" he took my pack and I began to run to the parking lot. I wasn't going to make it in time, but I had to try.

- - - - - -

I made it to the entrance of the building and froze on my tracks, "Great!" I moaned when I saw that it was pouring outside, it was a good thing my Jeep wasn't so far.

"… CANT YOU SEE THAT?!" I heard somebody shout exasperated, his voice quivered in outrage.

"Yes, I do actually. But, you can't get invol-…" another melodic voice answered, still, there was an edge of irritation in it.

"WOLVES, ALICE!!!" he shouted back.

"We don't know that yet. And keep your voice down…" she hissed.

I instinctively turn just an inch in the direction of the shouting and found the Cullen siblings several yards away from me, Edward with his hands balled into fists hitting the closest tree trunk, his back to me and Alice staring at him with her arms folded across her chest glaring furiously at him. Apparently, they noticed my presence, because they immediately broke their little rant and remained quiet.

I pretended not to have noticed them as I pulled my hoodie onto my head and begun to race to my jeep. _Wolves? What about wolves? There hasn't been any wolf attacks that I know of… And if there had been, why is he getting all worked up about them? It just doesn't make any sense. _I opened the door, pulled the damn piece of paper inside my jacket, slammed the door shut and ran as fast as I could back to the building. With the corner of my eye I scanned for them, but they were gone. _Hmm, that was fast… _and ran all the way to class.

"Just in time" Adam said under his breath once I sat down next to him. "Hey, was it raining outside?" he asked as he saw my hair dripping all over my desk.

"No, I just went home and took a shower…" I said monotonously. My intention was on being sarcastic, but I just couldn't bring it out. I kept thinking about what I heard outside the parking lot.

_Wolves._

_Nope. I don't get it…_

_- - - - - - _

"Are you going to eat anything at all?" Sophie stared at the apple that I kept twirling in my hand.

"Im not hungry" and I wasn't. My stomach felt strange and the thought of food made it churn. I had no intention on throwing up in front of the entire cafeteria.

"Ok. I'm warning you… if you pass out again" she eyed me.

"Im fine. I wont. Ok?" I folded my arms in the table and I rested my healthy cheek on them and closed my eyes. I felt something vibrate in the inside of my jacket and I gasped audibly and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. It was a message from Jake.

'Hey honey. How's the cheek?

Sorry again. Promise I'll make it up to you.

Miss you. Call you later'

I smiled broadly once I read it; Jacob seemed to always have that effect on me, he made me smile, no matter how furious I was feeling. I chuckled quietly and wrote back.

'Don't worry. I'll make sure you do.

Miss you more :)

"Hm. Your gloomy mood seemed to have improved" Sophie smirked while I placed my cell back inside my jacket. "Wonder who cheered up your day" she teased. To her surprise, I began laughing.

"Oh, Sophie…" I rolled my eyes at her, still smiling. _You have no idea how right you are._

I took a bite from my apple and began chewing on it feeling a little more cheerful; once I was done, I stood up and walked to the trash can to throw away the remains of my apple. As I did so, my mind wondered back to Friday night when Jake had me around the waist and we were walking back to the bonfire, my cheek was already injured.

"_I'm beginning to think that I'm kind of dangerous for you" he half joked, half grimaced._

_He__ would never hurt me… at least, not on purpose._ I smiled, rubbing my wrist softly; I sighed… I abruptly froze on my tracks, as a piercing stare caught my attention once more time. It came from the farthest table in the corner of the cafeteria. Edward. He looked even furious than in Biology.

_UGH! Now what?_ I groaned, glaring back. I saw Alice throw an uncomfortable look between the beloved annoying brother of hers and me. She tilted her head a little in his direction and he shook his head once, never leaving my eyes. Then, she gave him a small kick from under the table and he shot her a murderous look. She shook her head hotly and scurried away from the table, never looking my way.

"KRISTEN! Come on!" I turned around to find Adam and the rest the kids of my table standing up and getting ready to leave to next period. The bell must have rung, but I didn't hear it. I saw almost everybody lazily getting up and heading out of the cafeteria. Almost everyone except the owner of the perpetuous glare who kept frozen like a statue in his seat.

_What do you want from me?_ My eyes fell to the floor as I spun around and made my way to the entrance of the cafeteria. With the corner of my eye, I thought I saw him break his position and place his head in his hands, but I couldn't be sure, I didn't dare look back at him.

* * *

**Hey**** guys! Please review!**

**I DARE YOU! **

**Thank you…**


	11. Clash

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight of any of the Twilight Characters, all of them are creation of the author Stephanie Meyer. **

**Kristen and the rest of the new characters are of my creation.**

* * *

"So… what are we watching again?" Embry asked while stuffing his mouth with a fistful of popcorn. Quil shrugged and continued to drool over a couple of girls that were standing by the ticket line, wearing way-too-short miniskirts and lots of makeup. Without looking away, he smacked Embry hard on the shoulder to get his attention, and when the other one turned around to smack him back, he saw them and his jaw dropped in an audible pop.

_GUYS! _I shook my head in repulsive disbelief as I made my way towards them.

They weren't hard to miss, all three of them almost 6'2'' rich-bronze skinned, long dark hair and pretty buff for their age. Most girls kept throwing curious glances at them, even some flirty smiles. As for the boys, they sure loved getting all the attention, well, at least Embry and Quil did; Jake simply ignored these girls, which silently pleased me; he continued to look my way, brows slightly creasing, completely lost in thought. Something seemed to be troubling him; he usually laughed loudly and fooled around with his friends, but not today. The expression on his face gave me the feeling that something was wrong.

I met his gaze as I approached, my heart speeding up just a little; I noticed that it's been happening more often whenever he was near, but I didn't let it get to me. I pushed those silly thoughts away but couldn't help smiling. I felt a little jolt on my stomach once his lips mirrored mine, drawing a small smile, but his didn't touch his eyes.

"Here!" I said coolly once I reached them, handing off their tickets. Jacob took the tiny piece of paper between his fingers, eyes squinting as he read it but didn't say a word. I folded my arms across my chest while I shot him a 'don't you dare' glare. He looked up and smirked, shaking his head.

"UNTIL DUSK?!" Quil asked out loud "Vampires?!" he raised his eyebrows at me, his tone between mockery and skepticism. Embry groaned loudly once he realized which movie it was while Jacob chuckled under his breath while at their faces, as for me, I sighed loudly.

_Here we go! _I groaned internally.

"WHAT'S wrong with vampire movies?!" I asked annoyed sort of grinding my teeth; I felt my blood slowly begin to bubble inside my veins.

"Well… it has VAMPIRES for once" Embry scowled, still looking at his ticket, as if trying to burn it with his mind.

"VAMPIRES SUCK!! BIG TIME!!" Quil interjected, throwing a disgusted-mocking look towards Embry, who snickered loudly. They both looked at me as if expecting me to say something about it, but I didn't get their inside joke, so I continued to glower back

"UGH! Well, It was either THAT or Kitty goes to the big city. There aren't many options here, you know" I snapped at both of them. "Besides! IM the one who's paying for the tickets…" I growled "so, it's MY CHOICE!"

"Hey, hey, hey! …" Embry raised his hands in the air, waving them to stop my annoyed outburts "Whoa! As far is I can remember, YOU lost a bet… you can't choose the movie Kristen" he protested shaking his head.

I just couldn't believe these guys!

FIRST, they make a stupid bet over if I was fierce enough to go cliff diving with them. When I finally accept on doing it, which I've secretly always wanted to anyways, Jacob butts-inn by telling them off and calling me insane. AND, because of that, I have no idea why, the start shouting that I lost!!! After two hours of hopelessly arguing with all three of them and yelling out loud how unfair they were acting, I decided to drop it and pay up by taking them to the GOD DAMMNED MOVIES!!!

And NOW THEY ARE SULKING LIKE THREE-YEAR-OLDS OVER A VAMPIRE FLICK!?!? UGH!!

"Is Kitty a hot chick?" Quil asked interested all of a sudden, his eyebrows going up and down in a devilish way. I just scowled at him and spun around to get some popcorn, cussing under my breath. _This is the last time…_

"It's a musical, Ateara!" I heard Jake smack something hard followed by an 'hey'. Embry and Quil shuddered loudly at the word 'musical' and I couldn't help but laugh. What's with guys and musicals anyways? _Oh, I hope he smacked him really good!_

"Vampires sound good, Kris!" Embry called out loud and I just rolled my eyes at them. I turned around and saw Quil rubbing the back of his head, scowling while Jake shot him another glare.

"Come on you guys, the movie starts in 5 minutes" I growled as I began walking, the popcorn tray on my hand; Jake's eyes sparkled once he saw it, his hand reaching out to take it from my hands. "Oooooh no, Black. THESE are mine!" I shot him a menacing look.

"I always get my way" he stood in front of me while folding his arms looking taller than ever. I couldn't believe he was still growing, I mean seriously, my head barely reached his chin. He caught my expression as I gaped at him for a second and he looked down on me, an evil grin spreading across his lips.

"Just because you are huge…" I tiptoed to try and reach the level of his face "it doesn't mean that I can't take you down, Black!" I smiled.

_I can, and I will, so don't push your luck!_

"I wouldn't be so sure… you seem pretty small and breakable to me" he chuckled as he patted my head mockingly. I smacked his hand as hard as I could and he chuckled even louder "You are like an angry little kitten… it's cute" I growled under my breath at his words and took a step back,.

"Oh, get a room you two!" Quil shouted loudly as he and Embry staggered past us. "Let's see where the hot girls sat!"

"Hey!" I yelled as Embry, in act of pure childish immaturity, pushed me while he made way, almost knocking off my tray and making me loose my balance. Jake instinctively took a step forward, quickly placing his hands carefully around my waist, preventing me from falling down and hitting the floor. As I noticed what he'd done, my breath was held at the unexpected contact; as always, my heart fluttered wildly inside my chest and my stomach felt uneasy… I shyly glanced up at his face that was really close to me, a teasing smile spread on Jacob Black's lips, his eyes flickered in a way that gave me goose bumps. I concealed a gasp managing to gulp instead. He smirked at my reaction.

_Please don't blush! Please don't blush! _Then I felt the warmth spread across my face. _Damn it!_

"May- …" he cleared his throat "Maybe I should help you with that" his voice quivered a little as he released me slowly, his gaze locked in mine "We wouldn't want all that popcorn go to waste"

"Gee, thanks. But, I think I'll hold on to it" I tried to sound nonchalant, but my voice shook as well.

He shot me one of those stunning-breathtaking smiles of his that just made me forgot hot to breathe; thousands of butterflies swirled aggressively inside my stomach. _Jake..._ My heart skipped a beat at his name…

_Oh my God! What's going on here? Why am I reacting to him like this? _My body trembled slightly at the thought, my eyes falling down on his full-shaped lips that were slightly parted, a hint of a smile hiding in them, but his expression changed, his eyes smoldered.

"Cold?"

"Nah, I love to shiver… it's my thing, I-I shiver for fun" I muttered nervously, trying to brake free of them.

"I could warm you up" his husky voice barely a whisper "But you have to ask nicely" a mischievous smile reappeared on the corners of his mouth, never breaking eye contact. Bending his knees slightly so his eyes were almost at the level of mine, he leaned in closer as he spoke, his hot breath softly hitting my face, making my insides feel warm and gushy. The way his dark-brown eyes held me at his mercy made my head spin, I heard myself gasp softly; my heart rate went insane and all could do was look at him, completely paralized in place with my cheeks burning hot.

"I could lend you my jacket" he chuckled darkly, taking in my shocked state and then he took a step away; a pleased expression plastered on his face "I'm not wearing it, anyways" his tone sounding light again. "Come on". He spun around and began to walk, leaving me gaping at him like a total idiot.

_What was that? Did he__… is he flirting with me? _

Once he was a couple of steps away, I silently let out a sigh of relief and took in a deep breath to try and clear my head; it didn't entirely work though, the combination of butter, caramel and popcorn scents sort of made me even dizzier than I already felt. I gulped loudly and shook my head, blinking several times.

"Hey! Are you coming or not?" he suddenly stopped, looking over his shoulder. I simply nodded, not trusting my voice, which I was pretty sure it would give me away.

"Oh, no you don't! I see what your doing!" he squinted his eyes, taking a couple of long strides towards me "You aren't making ME watch this crappy movie by myself! YOURE COMING!" he grabbed my sleeve and began towing me and all I could do was laugh.

"Let go, JAKE!" I tried, between laughs, to effortlessly shake him off and sighed, giving up once I noticed that he wouldn't.

"I'm just making sure you don't make a run for it, Kristen!" he shot me a 'I'm not kidding' look and then winked at me while I scowled at him. It bothered me that I was a rag doll under his fingertips, towing me around as he pleased.

"It isn't going to work, you know" I turned to look at him, my tone defiant; a frown spread across his goofy grin as he continued to look forward, not letting go of my sleeve.

"What isn't?"

"I won't share!"

"Oh, come on Kris! You aren't even going to finish them…" he half groaned. A small smile resurfacing, which gave me the impression that he thought I meant something else, because he suddenly seemed relieved. Hm, wonder what it was.

"Well, that's my problem, isn't it?" I said coolly, feeling like my normal self again, fighting with my best friend, all the uncomfortable-strange tension gone "Besides, you ate yours before I even bought the tickets"

"I was hungry" he shrugged.

"Jacob! YOU ARE ALWAYS HUNGRY!" I complained and he shot me a guilty smile.

"Please?" he gave me the puppy-dog eyes that he damned well knew would work on me. I hated him when he did that. I groaned loudly and I'm sure he knew that my guard was down.

"Fine!!!! I'll share… but NO POPCORN FIGHTS! I MEAN IT, JAKE!!" the last thing I needed was to be in the middle of a popcorn war between him and the other two idiots. Somehow, I always ended with popcorn, jalapenos or any other smelly-sticky stuff on my hair. And, of course, it was hilarious for them but really, really irritating for me.

"I'll do my best" he looked at me with a serious face and then looked away. I caught him suppressing a smile and I frowned at him.

_So much for keeping my hair safe!_

- - - - -

Apparently Embry and Quil managed to sit next to the girls they were stalking earlier and they seemed really happy about it. Embry shrugged once he saw us come in and pointed to the seats that were all the way to the back while mouthing 'sorry'. I was pretty sure that he wasn't, though. I rolled my eyes to him and Jacob gave them the thumbs up.

"Come on, this way" Jake cocked his head and continued to tug my sleeve. I had the feeling that he was going to rip the fabric off, I grinded my teeth. It was my favorite sweater and he was going to ruin it.

"What?" he noticed my frown.

"Nothing… just stop pulling my sleeve, BLACK" a couple of 'shhhs' erupted from around us; Jake chuckled quietly and let go of it. 'Such a girl' was all I heard him say. Since I didn't want to get thrown out of the movies, I decided to pretend like I didn't hear him at all; but, eventually he would pay for his comment and he knew that, because he threw me an uneasy look, I just narrow my eyes at him.

The movie had already begun and I just couldn't focus on it at all. The plot sucked big time, as Jacob anticipated. Out of the blue, a voluptuous blonde wearing red lipstick and a see-through bikini got attacked in a swimming pool by a vampire. Lots of blood, lots of screaming and splashing around; and for some strange reason that I simply can't understand, the blond lost her top and the whole theatre cheered. I heard Embry's and Quil's approving groans and whistles all the way to our seats. I sighed.

Curiously, I peeked through my hair to see if Jake was drooling at the screen like the rest of the other idiots, but, was taken by complete surprise when I saw him staring at me. He wasn't smiling or anything, he was just… looking at me. A hidden emotion behind his gaze.

"You ok?" he smiled a little once he met my eyes; the light from the screen reflected on his gorgeous features. His dark lashes that blinked gently as he continued to look down at me, his strong jaw and perfect cheekbones that framed around those full lips of his that were just teasing me. He simply took my breath away. Jacob was so… beautiful.

_Oh my God! I think… I'm__ falling for him. _

The pounding inside my chest became frantic once again, I was glad that the music was loud enough to drown it otherwise I was sure the entire audience would have heard it. "Yeah…" I choked out, my face boiling and my hands nervously balling into fists.

"Sure you won't get scared?" a hint of mockery slipped in his words. But, the way his eyes wandered across my face gave me the impression that he was looking for something. _What was he trying to find there?_

"I'll survive" I looked away before I began glowing in the dark, I heard him chuckled softly as he reached for some popcorn from my tray. I had the urge to tell him off, but once again, my throat went dry and I couldn't find my voice.

_Ok, don't get ahead of yourself Kristen. So, you've sort of fallen for your best friend… I mean, are you sure that's what you want? Just, don't screw __it up… Jake is so wonderful and caring and just amazing. Please Kristen, don't screw it up with him. What if he isn't interested in you like that? _I grimaced, my chest growing cold. _What if you are getting it all wrong? Ugh, just, just… don't do anything stupid that later you are going to regret. Please! _I placed my hands on my knees, my fingers suddenly digging through the fabric of my jeans in an anxiety attack. I had to find a way to control all that was building inside before it was late and I completely lost it.

"Hey, hey" Jakes worried voice woke me up from the uneasy stupor, but didn't dare face him, my eyes were shut tightly, trying to concentrate my ragged breathing, feeling it bubble up inside me.

"What's wrong?" he asked soothingly while carefully lifting my cold hands from my knees and placing them in his. The contact of his warm skin made my whole body quiver with emotion and I felt myself relax, a warm sensation scattering through it. It just felt so damned good having my hands between his. But, it wasn't right. He was my best friend, I couldn't. I shouldn't think like this.

_What if he… doesn't…_

A pained sob heaved in the within my chest and I felt the defeated tears build up behind my eyelids, but I managed to fight them back. _You are acting like such a five year old, Kristen. Suck it up!_ I took in a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes to face Jake, whom continued to gently rub my hands with his thumbs, a really anxious expression in his eyes.

"Sorry. I-I guess this movie is just a little… too much for me" I laughed uneasily, looking away; of course he didn't buy it.

"What ever it is Kristen…" his husky voice whispered in my ear, my face slowly tilting his way, "I'm here" he leaned even closer, his temperate breath tickling my nose, his lips slightly parting just a few inches from mine. He was so close, too close. I felt my lips tremble in anticipation, feeling the intense pull from his. I wanted so badly to…

_No Kristen, you can't!_

The tray flew out of his lap and landed on the floor, popcorn scattering all over us. _Idiot! You are such and idiot!_ "I-I have to go to the rest room…" the words rushed out of my mouth as I jumped out of my seat, my breathing jagged, all of me shaking and completely flushed.

"Kris, it's …"

"I-I'll bring some napkins or something" I whispered embarrassed as I stumbled past him, avoiding his eyes, a couple of tears escaping mine.

_Idiot, idiot, idiot! What the hell is wrong with you? It's a good thing it was dark in there, but… Ugh! Oh my God, what am I going to do? This is such a mess._

I headed for the restroom but stopped on my tracks, my head spinning, I leaned against the wall and took in several jagged breaths before continuing with my escape, the last thing I needed was to be found by Jake looking like a total mess. Once inside the restroom, I splashed my face with cold water for like over a minute and dried up, avoiding to catch my reflection in the mirror, I felt so mad and ashamed and repulsed with myself.

A silent argument surfaced in the inside my head while I kept pressing my forehead against the restroom's mirror, trying to reason with myself.

_Ok, so now what are you going to do? You could leave… just not say anything and leave._ I frowned at the thought. What would I tell Jake when he came looking for me later? Hey, sorry. I felt kind of sick and had to run home? He wouldn't believe me… _sigh. Or, just, buy a huge bucket of popcorn, go back in there and pretend like nothing happened. If he sees you act cool, he'll think that you are fine and maybe, hopefully, he'll forget about the last 1o mins. _ Yeah, I wished, but it was the best plan I had.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes; I quickly glanced at the mirror, rearranging my messed-up curls and tried to give a small smile, getting into character._ Just hope it works. _

_- - - - - - - - - -_

"Ok, so what will it be honey?" the lady at the counter asked in a polite tone, quickly glancing behind me to see the huge waiting line, her eyebrows rising a bit.

"I'll have the giant bucket of popcorn with extra butter and jalapenos and… a Blue ICEE please"

"Is that all, dear?"

"Um, y-yes please"

"Your total will be 12.09. I'll comeback with your order in a second" she smiled.

"Thank you" I opened my wallet looking for a twenty.

"I really hope you are thinking of sharing that with at least four or five people" I froze as I heard the almost too familiar velvety voice murmur from behind me. It's been a while since I last heard it, but it still had the same effect on me. I took in small breath and turned around to face him.

_What is he doing here?_

"Excuse me?" I tried to sound annoyed, but didn't quite pull it trough. I was surprised to find Edward's expression in such ease, the shade of his eyes were light and there was a small smile hidden in the corner of his mouth. He looked… different than last time I saw him. He'd missed a couple of days in school because he was feeling kind of ill, well, that's what Alice had told us anyway, but, I wasn't completely sure she was being honest.

"All I'm saying is that your order has a deadly-high amount of hot sauce, butter and sugar. It could be quite harmful for your health" his tone a bit mocking "So, I merely suggest that you share it with other people and avoid giving yourself a heart-attack"

_HE'S TALKING TO ME AGAIN? LAST TIME I CHECKED, HE WANTED TO BITE MY HEAD OFF!_

"And… what if I don't?" I rose my left eyebrow defiantly. acid in my tone.

"Then you are a very selfish person" I rolled my eyes at his words and his red lips twitched a bit.

"Anything else?" I asked curtly.

"Yeah" his voice shook me again "you should get that" he purred while pointing to the counter, where the lady stood with my order in her hands, completely gawking at Cullen. I gave her the bill and sort of reminded her that she had to give me back the change, took my tray and began to walk away.

"So, what movie are you watching?" he was on my side before I noticed.

"Weren't you supposed to be buying something?" I eyed him exasperated, walking a little faster. _Damn stupid cinema! Why did it have to be so huge? _

"I wasn't hungry anymore" he merely shrugged "and you didn't answer my question. What movie are you watching?"

"Until Dusk" I said briskly

"I didn't know you were into vamp…" he chuckled with a little pleased edge to it.

"I'm not…" I interrupted harshly and saw his lips draw thin line. I felt my blood boil once more. He was acting all casual and that was driving me crazy. "Ugh. Cullen. Do you need something?" I came to a sudden halt, completely facing him.

He just looked at me for a moment, his eyes weren't as light as before, they turned slightly darker, his jaw set and his frame became rigid. I saw his Adam's apple bob anxiously. "Just… be safe" there was a fervent plea to his words.

"Safe?" my head swirled, I had no idea what he meant by that. I placed the tray on a table that was near us, I was afraid it might slip from my grip. Edward eyed my movement, but didn't move or say anything, he continued to stare intensively at me. I was about to ask what the hell he meant by that when…

"KRISTEN!" I heard my name being called near by and I automatically spun around to find Jacob walking quickly towards me, a sign of relief in his face. "I've been looking for you" he sighed smiling "I thought you left or something since I couldn't find you…" his smiled disappeared and his face became hostile as he noticed Cullen standing next to me.

I couldn't possibly explain the intense, uncomfortable tension that suddenly build up, pressing around us like a steel shrinking bubble as Edward Cullen's aggressive gaze clashed almost audibly with Jacob's. The high rise of testosterone level became dangerously tangible between both of them, sparks and violent static erupting from either side. I could honestly swear that I heard a menacing growl thundered in my ears but didn't distinguish where it came from.

Jacob snaked his long arm around my waist and pulled me against his hard frame in a protective stance, placing me slightly behind him, leaving space between Cullen's threatening posture and me. The reaction was so masculine, so territorial that just made my toes curl. At this rate, my heartbeat was thudding frighteningly hard against my chest, electricity ran through all the pores of my body and my mind raced frantically trying to find an excuse to ease the moment and break them apart before _something happened._

"No, Jake" I tried to sound as nonchalant as I could "Just came to buy some popcorn" I looked at him with a small smile at my lips. He didn't look down at me like I hoped, instead he continued to viciously glare at Cullen, whom continued to blaze.

"Come on Jake, we should get going…" I whispered a little panicky, while caressing the exposed skin of his hand that was still securing me from the waist; he felt strangely hot, like he had a fever or something. "The guys might be wondering where we are" I tugged him slightly but Jake didn't move, all of him quivering.

"Edward!" Alice's silvery voice made me sigh loudly in relief, I quickly glanced to my side and saw her dancing towards us, a hint of annoyance on her beautiful pixiesh face.

_Perfect timing! Oh my God, I so totally__ love you Alice!_

"Don't tell me you mixed up my order again!" she slapped her brother on the chest and pulled him back a little, Cullen still glaring "I keep telling you that you should always write it down. You have a really bad memory" there was something odd about her voice, but her face continued to look at ease.

"Well, hey there Kristen. I didn't know you were here!" she gave me a small smile, her eyes quickly going from Jacob to his arm around my waist and then to me again. Her eyes flashed.

"Yeah, I came to the movies with Jacob and his friends" _Thank you Alice!_

"Is your movie over already?" she quickly looked at Jacob, whom continued to murderously glare at her brother, and then at me, sounding like everything was cool and there was no tension whatsoever.

"Um, no, it isn't, actually. There like 15 minutes left" I blurted out.

"Then you should get going; you can't say you watched a movie if you missed the end, right?

"Yeah, I agree. Come on Jake" I pulled him with as much effort I could mustard, but the damned boy seemed to be carved from stone, he wouldn't budge. Oh, _for the love of God, please Jake. Let's go! _I silently pleaded.

"And you still owe me my chicken pita with onion rings!" she pulled Edward with a little more force, finally making him break his posture. Edward's dark eyes fell on my face, a shot of shock and fear made me gasp. Alice slapped him again, making him look down at her, he seemed as if he was about to bite her head off, AGAIN.

Her face became defiant, her eyes flashing at him, it was quite scary to be honest "You call yourself a good brother" she grinded her teeth and pulled him harder. "Come on. I'll let you make it up to me" he finally moved, not saying a word.

I was impressed how a small girl like her could manage brake him like that. "By Kris!" she called out, throwing an apologizing smile . I nodded but did say a word.

"Jake?" I heard his name carefully flow out of my mouth; I squirmed a little in his strong hold which loosen a bit. I felt myself tip-toe so I could try and reach the level of his face, looking for his gaze, my hands on his broad shoulders. My eyes rested on his mouth that was in a thin line, his jaw strongly set, and his nose flared. He was furious.

"Jacob" I called his name again, a slight edge of emotion in it; I guessed he noticed it, because it made him brake away from his trance and his penetrating eyes finally focused on mine, loosing a bit of hostility. "Are you ok?" I whispered worriedly, my voice a bit worn out. I didn't understand why I felt so utterly tired…

"Let's go" he spoke through his teeth, his voice huskier than normal, I guessed he was still really upset. He closed his eyes as if trying to calm himself down, his beautiful features hard, cold.

"Please…" my lips trembled as my hand slowly, hesitatingly touched his left cheek, my thumb swiftly brushing against the warm skin there; I saw his eyelids softly shook at the contact, and he swallowed quietly.

His head tilted down a little as he opened his eyes; I felt a shot of relief to see the aggression in them, gone. With a small pressure of my fingertips, I pulled his face even closer to me, pressing my forehead against his. As I closed my eyes, I heard Jacob's eased sigh escape his lips, his breath caressing mine; both of his arms were tightly around my waist now, hugging me even closer to him.

Like I've said, being this close to Jacob has never bothered me before. But, I noticed that this time, it felt different… I couldn't explain this, heck, I didn't even know what THIS was. All I knew is that I never wanted him to let me go, and that thought frightened me.

I don't know how long we stayed locked like this. My ears tuned out all the noise and the voices from around us. The only thing they recognized were the thuds of his heartbeat slowly calming down, easing off his and my anxiety.

I sighed and so did he.

_There's nothing to worry __about Jacob. _My heart spoke to itself, afraid of being heard._ Please, please calm down. I'm here. I'm with you._

"THERE YOU ARE!!!" I heard Quil's amused voice pop from somewhere near. Jake pulled his face away from mine, but continued to hug me; I on the other hand, felt my cheeks turn tomato-red.

Quil and Embry exchanged an evil grin and several mischievous looks once the found us in this specific position.

"Ok, what did we miss?" Embry folded his arms across his chest, raising his brow and pretending to sound left out.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Quil rolled his eyes at him.

Jacob carefully set me on the ground, giving me a hint of a small smile. He took my right hand and kept it in his, I squeezed it gently in reassurance. Quil and Embry continued to throw impish smiles and looks but we didn't say anything.

"Let's go" Jake's voice sounded calmer, but there was still something there.

"Yeah, lets get some pizza or something… I'm starving" Embry rubbed his stomach and then smiled at me. "Was pizza part of the bet, Kris?" I squinted my eyes at him. "Guess not!"

As we walked out of the cinema, I felt Jacob stiffened next to me. I quickly looked at him and then to where he was glaring at. It was the Cullens. They were heading out through the other exit. Alice shot me a worried smile and Edward threw his normal furious-angst glare that I was already used to. It appeared that Alice was dragging her brother against his will, because I had the feeling he had strong intention on coming back inside. I shuddered at the thought, I wasn't quite sure if I could keep Jake in control if he did.

I saw them get inside the silver Volvo across the street and disappeared into the city lights.

"Hey, what's up?" Quil noticed Jacob sudden mood-change. He looked at Jake's face and then at me. I guessed he felt my anxiety building up once more. "You know these guys, Kris?"

"Um, yeah" I answered casually, though my whole body went cold. "They're the um, the Cullens, they… go to school with me" I blinked nervously "I-I've shared a couple of classes with them"

"Wait a minute" Embry looked at me suddenly, his eyes wider in surprise "Did you say… CULLENS?" I think I saw his russet skin turn paler.

"Yeah" I answered confused not understanding the question, and most of all, the way his voice sounded.

Quil shuddered faintly and Embry looked at him, a crease in his forehead. They both threw Jake a questioning look and he simply nodded once, his eyes locked in the place where the silver Volvo had disappeared. I didn't understand it, not one bit.

"Yo! Man! Where you going?" Embry called out as Quil began to walk past us.

"I'm umm, I'm gonna call Sam. I umm, forgot to tell him something… important. I-I'll catch up with you guys in a second, ok?" he muttered quickly.

All three of us just stared at him as he ran to the phone booth that was just a few yards from us and locked himself inside it, I saw him frantically dial the numbers and ran nervously ran his fingers through his hair as he spoke.

"Maybe we should head back" Embry's voice was hollow.

"I agree. Come on Kristen, I'm driving you home" Jacob pulled me by the hand as we made way to my Jeep. I was about to point out that it was MY car so I was the one who would drive, but decided not to. There was something about the way Jacob looked that just startled me a bit.

All my senses told me that there was something really wrong going on here; the way ALL OF THEM were acting wasn't the normal territorial-male behavior any other teenage boy would have. This was stronger, deeper, and to be honest, it was really starting to freak me out.

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**This chapter took me a long time to write, don't know why :s**

**Well, here you have it! Hope you like! **

**And to my great friend THEMAS****ALTOFF: hope you read it before you hop on that train LOL**

**Please, please, please review! It means so much to the author :D (in this case, me)**

**Chapter 12 coming right up! **


	12. Watching through my window

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Twilight of any of the Twilight Characters, all of them are creation of the author Stephanie Meyer. **

**Kristen and the rest of the new characters are of my creation.**

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_Wham__! Crash! _Several heavy objects collided disturbingly loud against the wall and doorframe of my bedroom, provoking me to jump awake while swallowing a frightened shout, both hands on my lips, my eyes wide shut and trembling uncontrollably.

Even in unconsciousness, I never forgot that I wasn't alone in the house. The idea of waking up my aunt with my terrified screams simply made my stomach churn uneasily. I was pretty sure she'd heard the deafening crashes of heavy objects smashing all over my bedroom at night and I couldn't help but silently wonder why she'd never bother to come up and check on me, not that I mind when she didn't, it was just… strange.

_Maybe she __thinks that I get the hysterics and desperately need to release my frustrations by trashing my room. Or… maybe she's a very heavy sleeper. _I hoped._ Yeah, right! _Who was I kidding?

I continued to pant, shaking from head to toes, my hair sticking all over my face soaked in sweat, my mind racing, images popping in the inside of my mind, all at the same time.

Confusion.

The nightmare had been pretty much the same, except that this time, the animalistic snarling was followed by a high-pitch mocking laugh that made my insides quiver. Just by remembering it my blood turned ice cold and I simply had trouble breathing. I had me teeth clenched tightly, avoiding them to chatter and bite my tongue off.

_It was so close. So real__! _I thought to my self, my fingernails digging in the quilt.

I shook the thought away, balling my hands into fists and my eyes locked to them, afraid of closing my eyes. In the back of my head, I had the feeling that there was something else, something I couldn't remember, that I missed in the dream. I guess I was too shaken up to even want to think about it, so I decided to wait until morning, when it was safer to close my eyes.

_Light. Light was good! Safe. _

Slowly I unclenched my fists, my nails continued digging in the thick fabric of my bed though. Mechanically, my left hand went to my chest as I took deep, slow gulps of air, feeling as my heartbeat slowly calm down until it returned to 'normal'. The tremors had stopped and my body temperature wasn't as cold as before. I quickly glanced towards my new alarm clock, I busted the old one a couple of nightmares ago, and groaned when I saw the time. It was 1 ó clock in the morning! I had no intentions on going back to sleep since I felt utterly afraid that I might have another one… an annoyed sigh came trough my lips as glanced towards the window, frowning at the darkness that continued to taunt me.

_Oh, how I__ wish it were day light!_

And then, my heart stopped completely.

_GASP!_

A dark figure shifted outside the edge my window before it vanished into the night, it was so fast that I could only make out a faint blur. All I knew was that this…_ thing_ was large, incredibly fast and it had been _watching_ _me _with out me even noticing. A ripple of terror rolled down my back as I gasped loudly, another frightened scream stuck in my chest.

I sat there, frozen in bed, staring at the glass, afraid to blink. My breathing picked up immediately and the trembling became even more violent. _There was something outside my window! _I panicked. _It was watching me!_

The first thing that came to mind was to get the hell out of that room as quickly as I could, run down the stairs and wake up Aunt Lily, hide somewhere inside the house and then call the sheriff's department. But I couldn't even move my legs, or any other part of my body for that mater. So, I continued to stare at the window, hypnotized with shock. I don't know exactly what I was waiting for, but I couldn't unlock my eyes from it; my breathing ragged and my heart thudding loudly in my ears.

I have no idea how long I stayed like that, but my body became so cold and stiff that it was quite painful; I don't remember blinking at all and I hardly took in any short breaths. The freezing droplets of sweat continued to roll freely down my forehead, making me shudder. After an endless period of time fixated on that small, squared window, I slowly became aware that there was no sign of movement, so gradually my sore muscles began to relax. My throat was very dry and it hurt when I swallowed, I made a face when I became aware of that.

_This is just silly, Kristen. _I tried to 'reason' with myself afraid of loosing the minuscule sanity I had left. Yo_u've just woke up from a bad dream… you are all shaken up! Its normal to be imagining things, after a nightmare, right? _I grimaced; even I didn't believe it. _Maybe you saw a cat… _'or a cougar, for that mater' I grinded my teeth.

_Oh, get a hold on yourself KRISTEN!_ I shut my eyes tightly, fighting back the tears._ You are in the second floor for Christ's sake! Calm down. Breathe._

I kept repeating that over and over in my mind, until I found the strength to finally break my position and lie down on my bed again, pulling the covers over my head and waited for the soothing morning light I longed so much for. _Why did it have to take so much time for morning to come? _

Several terrifying images continued to flutter inside my mind's eye and I just gave up, I couldn't do this by myself. So, I instinctively reached for my cell phone that was lying on the table next to my bed and cursed loudly when I didn't feel my laptop there. _UGH! DAMN IT!!!! _I groaned angrily grinding my teeth._ OH man! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE YOUR LAPTOP?! How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Aunt Lils? _I cursed silently, my blood boiling.

A few deep breaths later, I finally calmed myself down. My fingers traced the small buttons of my phone as I hesitated. I wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea on calling him at this time at night; well, to be honest, the real reason that worried me was the he might be upset with me or something. I couldn't and wouldn't take it if he was. My insides churn uneasily at the thought.

After the incident at the movies last Friday, Jacob became… different. I can't explain it, I just felt there, in his eyes, in his grasp; like there was an edge to them. As he drove me home that night, he kept my hand secured in his, holding it so tightly as if he feared that I would somehow slip away into a dark abyss if he dared let go. Embry and Quil kept throwing anxious looks between each other, but didn't say a word; Jake continued to look at the road, his face lost in thought, brows pulled together… he occasionally glanced down at me but I never met his gaze; instead I pretended to be dozing off, closing my eyes and resting my head in the seat. And, I guess I really did fall asleep, because I don't remember moving closer to him. The sudden warmth that spread around my skin made me return to consciousness, but I didn't open my eyes or move; I felt his arm around my waist as my cheek rested in his chest that rose evenly after every breath. I smiled a little, pleased.

"_What does it mean?" _I remembered Embry whispering anxiously; I felt myself stiffened at the question, still pretending to be asleep.

"_It doesn't mean anything"_ Quil whispered back, his voice shaken up.

"_They couldn't posibl-…"_ Embry stopped _"cant be…"_

"_We don't know that yet!" _Quil's voice became exasperated and edgy.

"_But what did Sam…"_

"_ENOUGH!" _Jacob's chest rumbled menacingly as he hissed the word and the other two became quiet immediately. None of them spoke after that and my head began to whirl in confusion. I didn't get what they were talking about or why they were so worked up about it, but… it made me uneasy. I shuddered.

Making up my mind, I decided to place my phone under the pillow and sighed deeply, feeling even worse. As I did so, my finger accidentally pressed the speed dial number and I saw the tiny blue screen flash the words 'calling JACOB' in it. My heart skipped a beat and I tried to press the END button, but was too late.

"Hey!" I heard his husky voice answer at the first ring.

"Jake" I breathed nervously placing the damned thing to my ear, my cheeks flushing and my heart speeding up again. "Sorry I woke you up…" I hesitated "I-I accidently pressed the speed dial and … I-Im sorry" I made a face at how stupid the whole thing sounded, but, it wasn't a complete lie.

"No, no, it's fine. I was just turning in" I heard a smile in his tone; he didn't sound upset or mad at all, as I realized that, my lips traced a small smile and a wave of warmth flew freely through my cold body.

"Actually, I finally managed to finish the damn History essay Mr. Stone gave us a week ago" he chuckled quietly. It surprised me how relaxed and care free he sounded… he seemed normal; something I wasn't expecting but really pleased to discover. I guess he was probably waiting for me to reply at his comment or at least nag at him for finishing his homework on the last minute, but I couldn't find my voice. My throat closed and I held my breath.

"Kristen, what's wrong?" his tone became worried "Another nightmare" it wasn't a question, it was more like a statement. There was a small edge of resentment in his voice. I didn't answer, just curled into a ball under my blankets, my eyes watering.

_Nightmares don't even cut it anymore… __try a huge shadow creeping up my window and watching me sleep through the night. _I swallowed a sob, tears running freely.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes" he said suddenly as I heard movement of fabric, he was probably getting up from his bed.

The idea of having Jacob Black close made it all better. I desperately needed to feel safe in his embrace, in his warmth. I needed to hear his voice telling me that everything was fine and that he would always be there, protecting me; I had the sudden urge to tell him to hurry up, but… I couldn't find myself to do it.

It was late, it was cold, he was probably exhausted and it was very selfish of me to even think of asking him to drive all the way to my house just because I was frightened and had the stupid delusion that _something _was watching me through my bedroom window.

"N-no, no Jake…" I felt my brows pull together, more tears rolling down my cheeks "it's really late, and you should rest…"

"I'm on my way" he disagreed.

"No, please Jake! I can't ask you to…" my voice shook in desperation. I really wished he was here.

"I'm not waiting for you to ask"

"Please?" I whispered.

"Kristen, you are calling me at 2 o'clock in the morning; clearly there's something upsetting you, honey" his tone in disagreement "I won't be able to sleep in ease when I know that you are not… I'll leave when I see that you are fine and I'll make sure you've fallen asleep" my heart melted at the fervency of his words.

"But, I-I feel better now, it was just a stupid nightmare Jake" I lied "Please don't worry"

"Besides, how would I explain this to Aunt Lily if she finds you here in my room at this time-a-night? And your dad, what would YOU tell your dad? We are likely to get into trouble Jake… please" it was a low blow, I know, but it was the only thing that came to mind to stop him from coming here.

Jacob didn't reply to my excuse and I was quite sure he never bought it in the first place. I heard him sigh deeply in defeat and then, he waited. I imagined him having his eyes closed, lips in a thin line and brows furrow pulled together.

"Do you think we could just… talk for a little while?" I broke the silence, trying to sound as composed as I could manage, though I knew my shaky voice had given me away.

"I'm not hanging up until you've fallen asleep" he added quickly, sounding upset. He knew me too well, and he knew that I was scared, but for some strange reason, he gave in.

I felt absolutely terrible for bothering Jacob with my stupid nightmares and personal-self existence-baggage-crap. He didn't deserve this and I didn't deserve him, he was just … amazing. My heart felt warm at the word.

"So, um…" I wavered for a second, not knowing what to say "d-do you know somebody who could fix a laptop?"

"A laptop?" he asked confused, guess he didn't see that one coming.

"Mm-hmm" I bit my lower lip nervously, my ears prickling.

"What happened to your laptop, Kristen?" his tone grew suspicious mixed with a little hint of curiosity. I smiled slightly at it.

"I'm not quite sure yet" I frowned "I-I'll tell you in the morning when I can see it properly, it's too damn dark right now" _and the pieces are probably scattered everywhere. _I grimaced.

Jacob laughed softly and I felt my tensed body begin to relax; it was amazing how his laughter made me feel well again. It had such an effect on me, it was light, natural, a breath of fresh air.

"Tell you what…" he said coolly once again "bring it by tomorrow and I'll give it a look. I'm not much into computers, but…" he chuckle once more.

"Thanks Jake, you're the best" I grinned, a small sigh of relief leaving my lips. I closed my eyes and my hand continued to hold my phone close to my ear, the warmth spreading all the way to my toes. "So, what did you do yesterday? I called you a couple of times, but… just got your voice mail…" I couldn't help my tone turning a little gloomy. I didn't see him yesterday and that sadden me a bit.

"Sorry about that" he said nonchalantly "I spent most of the day at Sam's place helping him out with some errands…" Sam's name made my eyes pop opened again. The tense faces of Embry and Quil and the whole scene from the movies rushed trough my head.

"Then, I went to the dump with Seth…" he continued but I cut him off.

"The dump?" I asked surprised still wondering what he'd meant about spending the whole day at Sam's.

"Um, oh! I almost forgot to tell you that I finally bought the master cylinder for the rabbit" he said cheerfully "it will probably be done in a couple of days, there are still a few quirks in it… nothing I can't handle" he added smugly.

_Cut it out Kriste__n, you are worrying about nothing. _I decided to let it go; I truly believed that I was edgy for no reason.

"That's great Jake!" I laughed a little, trying to sound convincing "but, um, what about your truck?"

"That piece of junk?" he chuckled "I'm taking it straight to the dump once the rabbit is done".

"You shouldn't speak of your truck like that" I interjected "it isn't fair. The truck's been there for you when you've needed it"

"Yeah… right up until it broke down in the middle of a rainstorm a couple of times. I'm telling you Kristen, I'm happy the rabbit is almost ready. I just can't stand the humiliation that piece of scrap metal has gotten me into…" I suppressed a laugh this and grunted in disagreement to his words.

"Well, then…" he chuckled teasingly "if the idea of the truck heading to the dump bothers you so much… why don't YOU keep it?"

"I already have the Jeep, Jake" I rolled my eyes.

"You see? Not even YOU want it" he snickered and I laughed too. I felt the tension dim as our conversation became casual, I sighed to myself in relief. There was really nothing to panic about…

We continued talking for almost an hour our, my lids began to feel heavy and my chest was warm enough; the soothing tone of his voice rocked me slowly to sleep. I don't remember when he hung up, it was probably when he heard me snore through the phone.

Through the heavy waves of drowsiness, I vaguely recall hearing his husky voice softly whisper something that made me smile before he said goodnight. As I felt myself fall deeper into unconsciousness, blurry images emerged and faded quickly, none making sense at all.

I felt confound to what I was seeing here… red carpet, a noisy crowd, brilliant neon lights and food stands, huge glass doors and windows, movie posters everywhere… this place seemed awfully familiar; had the urge to take a few steps to try and see clearer, maybe recognize where I was but I couldn't move; something had me strongly fastened in place. Glancing down to where I felt the pressure I noticed a russet arm holding me tightly around the waist, muscles and veins threatening to burst out. An aggressive quiver shook me hard from the side whilst my ears became deafened by a vicious growl that thundered menacingly close by…

Voices echoed in the back of my head as I felt my body being crushed by two iron walls that were closing fast on me. I couldn't breathe "STOP!" I barely choked while pushing as hard as I could to stop them, but it was no use…

"_Wait a minute" Embry's voice whispered anxiously "Did you say… CULLENS?"_

"_What does it mean?" Embry's strained voice lingered inside my head. _

"_It doesn't mean anything"__ Quil's voice shook._

"_They couldn't posibl-…" Embry quivered "cant be…"_

"_We don't know that yet!" Quil's voice became exasperated and edgy._

My alarm clock set off loudly shaking me awake… my head swirled and I felt nauseated. Still shaky, I got up from bed and began to get ready for school… a painful throb in my ribcage and an uneasy stomach…

- - - - - - -

"… Miss Evans?"

An exasperated voice dragged out of my anxious thoughts and back to reality… I blinked a couple of times, confused. Mr. Molina rose his brows at me, I was under the impression that he was waiting for me to say something, the problem was that I had no idea what he'd asked me in the first place. When I didn't answer, several students turned around curious to stare at me; I felt my cheeks grow hot.

"Planaria" I heard a whisper coming from the boy sitting next to me. It was so low that I hardly heard him at all.

"P-planaria, sir…" I stammered nervously quickly throwing a surprised glance to Edward, wondering why he helped… _What the hell?_

"Very good, Miss Evans" Mr. Molina nodded, though he gave me a disgruntled look; I guess he noticed my lack of attentiveness, so I threw the teacher a sheepish smile and dropped my gaze to my hands. I heard him continue with the lesson and his voice faded away once more.

_I was under the impression that you hated me to death… _I continued to play with my fingers; I heard a low sneer and instinctively turned to face him. His eyes were locked on the board as if trying to memorize what Mr. Molina had written there, but in some way had the strong feeling he was fully aware of my every move.

_Glad I amuse you__… _I thought bitterly while turning away from him, my fingers instinctively tracing the round stone of the bracelet Jake gave me long ago._ Well, now that you are talking to me again… and not showing any signs of wanting to bite my head off… _I mused to myself _Do you mind telling me what the hell happened Friday night?_ The scene from the movies popped into my head, I felt a shiver run down my spine as I remember both of them glaring viciously at each other…With the corner of my eye I saw Edward's jaw set hard, his brows pull together in a grimace and his lips in a thin line.

_Something's going on… I intend to find out what it is._ He sighed heavily as he continued to look forward, never meeting my gaze…

"Thank you" I whispered before I could stop myself; hey, it was the least I could do. I mean, he did help. I would have probably gotten a low mark on this month's grade or at least some extra homework.

I guess I waited for him to turn around and say 'your welcome' or some sort of sign that he heard my words of appreciation. But, when he didn't, a spark of irritation ignited on my veins._ Ugh! You know what? What ever! I'm not wasting my precious breath with you! I've had it! _I threw him a glare before I turned away, embarrassed and humiliated. I swear I heard his teeth grind.

_Besides, I __have other things to worry about! _My throat closed and went dry as images of my latest nightmare flashed into my head. My heart picked up a little and I began to shake; the animalistic growl ringing inside my head made my insides churn and I almost lost my balance while sitting. Edward's hands slowly balled into tight fists, his jaw set even tighter. The expression of his face grew darker and he swallowed hard.

He tilted his head a little in my direction a strange expression crossing his features. I didn't pay much of attention to it though, guess I was too lost in my thoughts. I continued to wonder what I've missed in my dream as I ran it over and over again in my head. It was daylight, It was safe.

Then, I shivered as if a bucket full of ice-cold water had fallen over me. The image of the blur outside my window made me gasp in terror, suddenly, I had trouble breathing. I felt Edward stiffened beside me, holding his breath as well… his pale knuckles began to shake slightly.

_There couldn't possibly be something outside my window, watching me, could there? I mean, there's no way to get there. The nearest tree is like 5 feet away from the window. But, I know what I saw, I just didn't imagine it. Ugh! I'm loosing my mind… _I closed my eyes tightly in frustration and dread as I took small breaths to try and calm down.

_What ever it was, I just hope it doesn't come back. _I grimaced and slowly opened my eyes; I felt a small sting of pain on the palms of my hands and then is when I noticed that I had them balled into tight fists, my nails digging hard into the flesh. I immediately relaxed them and began rubbing them softly.

"Don't you know that it's rude to watch somebody when you _think_ they aren't aware of it?" I hissed heatedly through my teeth as Edward continued to look at me through the corner of his eye; his jaw clenched even harder

"Well… it is" I turned to face him, acid in my tone "So, STOP IT!" I threw him another seething glare.

He finally turned around and I felt myself gulp loudly. His eyes were charcoal and furiously blazing, his lips parted slightly but didn't say a word.

"Just say it" anger rose up through my throat, I felt it at the tip of my tongue.

"You won't listen" he murmured angrily, grabbed his pack and walked away from the table a second before the bell rang leaving me shaking in place.

_WON'T LISTEN!? WHAT IS THAT SUPOSSED TO MEAN!? HOW CAN I LISTEN IF HE NEVER SPEAKS TO ME??? AND WHEN HE DOES, IT NEVER MAKES SENSE??? UGH! _

"HEY!" I heard myself call after him but he was gone. I picked up my stuff as quickly as I could and ran past Sophie who threw me a puzzled look but I didn't turn back at her. I was bubbling inside and needed answers…

The books practically flew out of my hands when I almost slammed into Edward Cullen's figure. He was standing right outside the classroom's door, his arms folded on his chest, jaw set and staring fiercely at me. I abruptly stopped, a surprised 'oh' escaped my lips and I just glared back.

"Listen to what, exactly?" exasperation took hold of all my senses; suddenly I didn't mind if I was talking louder than usual. A couple of kids cocked their heads and stared curiously at us.

"You should be careful whom you trust …" he hissed, his features twisting in fury "things are never what they appeared to be… people change Kristen" he took another step forward and my body went cold. The small audience kept throwing nosy glances and whispered excitedly, but again, I didn't care.

"Wha… what are you talking about?" I groaned in defeat as I moved my hands heatedly. His riddles were driving me insane!

"The boys from the reservation…" his eyes blazed once more "they aren't good company…"

_The Quileute? JACOB!? __What does this have to do with them…?_

"Excuse me…" my face prickled in anger "but the people I hang out with are none of your God-damned business!" my head began to spin. "How dare you judge my friends! You don't even know them…! Who do you think…?"

"Listen to me Kristen…" he cut me off taking another step forward. He was so close that I felt his cool breath brush against my face making my head swirl "Stay away from them… please" there was that fierce pleading in his voice again…

I shook myself out of the trance Cullen had gotten me in "No. I won't stay away from my friends" my voice came out determined "What's this really about, Cullen?" I tiptoed in a challenging posture as if trying to reach his height… he was really tall.

"You are so stubborn…" he spat through his teeth and spun around. He was out of my reach in less then two seconds. The urge of swearing loudly back at him burned inside my chest, but I knew better. This wasn't the time or the place, for that matter and I knew that if I did, detention was on its way… besides, we'd given much of a show for one day.

I abruptly spun the opposite direction from him and stormed towards my next class, fuming. Static shaking me from head to toes… I wanted to burst!

- - - - - - - -

"Hey Kris, how are…"

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR BROTHER?!" I practically screamed in annoyance cutting Alice's cheerful greeting. "WHAT DOES HE WANT FROM ME, ALICE?!" I ran my hands through my hair in desperation and tapped my foot loudly on the floor, trying not to loose it.

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, she just stared at me. Her beautiful smooth and her eyes with a hint of worry; guess she was waiting for me to calm down… and when I finally snapped out of the enraged trance I was and noticed how childish and rude I was acting towards her, I took a deep breath and calmed down… but just a little.

She placed her unusual cool hand around my wrist and pulled me softly towards my chair in front of her, nodded once as in inviting me to sit. I did as she silently asked and she threw me a small smile. I sighed feeling utterly exhausted.

"What happen?" she asked softly, her beautiful amber eyes staring intently at my furrowed face.

"UGH!" I barely heard her question "I simply CAN'T understand how come you are so sweet and he is soooo…. irritating and arrogant and…"

"That's cause I'm adopted" she chuckled softly, a small smile at the corner of her lips. I didn't get what was funny, so I glared at her statement and she shrugged. "It's true"

"That explains it" I muttered bitterly and sighed exasperated.

"What happen?" she insisted, her hand softly shaking my shoulder as if trying to get an answer.

"It's nothing"

"Nothing? Kristen, you just don't get so worked up about nothing" she said skeptically. "Now tell me what he did" she gave me a threatening look that didn't match her angelical face "I mean it"

"All right people, settle down…" the teacher walked in and began scribbling on the board.

"Class is about to start Alice…" I shot her a sheepish look and turned around to face the board.

"We will continue this later" she whispered in my ear. Her tone was smooth, but somehow I knew that she was the slightest bit annoyed. I nodded solemnly knowing that there was no chance of getting away from her… not now. I was going to have to tell her…

My chin rested on top of my folded arms and I just tuned everything out. I felt utterly exhausted and in a really crappy mood…

_When did everything get so complicated? _

* * *

**Happy new year everyone! :)**

**I just wanted to thank ****TheMasaltoff, Silvern Haze and Musik Drache for all their encouraging words and support, even though I get really lost sometimes. Love you girls *hearts you big time***

**Hope you**** guys like this chapter!**

**You know what to do… read and review *winks***


	13. Exposed

**Disclaimer: I don't blah blah blah blah! Just read and enjoy **

* * *

**My Immortal (Evanescence)**

**I'm so tired of being here, suppressed by all my childish fears  
And if you have to leave, I wish that you would just leave  
Your presence still lingers here and it won't leave me alone**

These wounds won't seem to heal, this pain is just too real  
There's just too much that time cannot erase

When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears  
When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have all of me

* * *

My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, a numb feeling spreading through my fingers all the way up to my wrists, but still, I didn't let go.

I continued to stare at the empty road through my blurry windshield, it was pouring outside again. It also felt as if it were pouring in the inside of my Jeep since my lashes and shirt were completely soaked in salty tears that continued to spill non-stop through my cheeks. A searing pain punched thousands of throbbing cracks inside my chest. It was painful to breathe…

- - -

_I've dreamt them last night… _

_I__ saw their smiling faces before they kissed me goodbye._ -Another crack spread open and I flinched- _"Behave… and no boys in the house after 9 p.m" she teased and placed her soft hand on my cheek. "See you in a few days, kiddo" he winked at me and then both of them got inside the car._

_They drove away and I chased after them "Mom, Dad, no! Wait!" I called out as loud as I could but everything went dark and I couldn't see anymore. I continued to run, but I tripped and fell hard on the floor; then, an earsplitting screech thundered close by, the horrorstruck screams made me shriek in agony… _

_I__ knew that I was too late. _

_My nails dug in the hard soil as I screamed in anguish… I wasn't fast enough to stop them._

_An animalistic snarl made __me swallow my cries; my body went stiff as it grew closer to where I lay. Immediately my eyes darted from side to side trying to see where it came from but the darkness still had me at its mercy. I don't recall getting up but I found myself running again as the snarling became even closer; my heart thudded frantically at the thought that what ever it was, it was behind me and it would catch up with me shortly. _

_Though my legs ran as fast as they could carry me, __I knew it was useless, I was too slow. Then, something cold dug sharp nails on the side of my shoulder, making me howl in pain, and sent me flying through the air; my body smashed hard against something solid. A piercing high-pitch laugh rang in my ears as an agonizing pain blazed in my neck, spreading slowly through my veins… it felt like liquid fire consuming everything on its way. _

_It__ burned! Oh my God, it burned!_

_My body trashed back and forth as I __heard myself bellow in torture "Kill me! I RATHER DIE! MAKE THE BURNING STOP!"_

_- - -_

Slowly I pulled my head from between my knees, my shaky body rocking back and forth. The light outside the windshield pained my swollen red eyes that continued to leak. Though my breathing was calmer, I still felt like shit…

The cell phone inside my pack rang again. _Catherine! _I thought grimly. She'd been calling for the past half hour, but I never answered. It rang once more and I slowly pulled the small object out of the pocket and placed it in my hand. The MESSAGE icon was blinking, my trembling finger pressed it.

'_Kristen, been trying to reach you. _

_Worried about you, kid._

_Please call back'_

_Cath_

A deep sigh escaped my lips as I threw the phone to the passenger's seat and started the engine. I damned well knew what this was about and I wasn't up for it. I didn't want to talk about it. You may think that after a year, I would have probably gotten over it, or at least, accepted it, but… that night had deeply scarred me for life. It was the reason why the nightmares were back. It was the reason why I was loosing myself again…

I swallowed angrily while pulling my Jeep back on the road and I cringed at the small clock on the stereo; I was really late for school, I'd already missed first period… Hesitating on even driving there I concluded that it was my only option to endure this hatred day of all and not loose what was left of my sanity...

Concentrating on my breathing and trying with all my might not to press the gas pedal all the way down and aim for a tree, I managed to make it to school in one piece -Though unconsciousness seemed pretty appealing right now- _COWARD! _My brain screamed at me

As I parked my car on the last empty place on the parking lot, my phone vibrated again. There was another message and I felt my brows furrow as I pressed the button once more.

'_I'm just one phone call away'_

A few tears broke free as I read Jake's message. _You know me so well…_ I whipped them away quickly and I got out of the car.

_Please make this day end__ soon… _I silently pleaded whilst running through the hall.

- - - - - - - - -

"Miss Evans, you are late" Mr. Molina stepped away from whatever he was writing on the board and threw me an exasperated look.

I simply nodded frozen at the entrance, my gaze glued to the floor. I felt him take a double look towards me and his voice became less harsh. "Well, don't just stand there. Come in" he looked away "You know where to find your seat" and he continued to work on the board.

"Thank you" was barely a whisper, not sure if he heard it. My numb feet slowly dragged me through the lines of tables all the way to the back of the room as curious gazes and whispers followed my every move. _Guess I look even worse than I thought._

I walked by Sophie's place and she gently tugged my jacket for attention, my eyes lingered on hers for only a second and then looked away. I didn't look back to see her reaction but I was pretty sure she felt hurt by my coldness or lack of interest. Making a small note to talk to her tomorrow and apologize, I continued walking.

Finally reaching the table, my wary eyes fell on the person sitting on the opposite chair and I felt myself grimace even deeper as he titled his head towards my way…

_N__ot today, I beg you._

Cullen swallowed hard and continued writing on a smooth blank paper on top of his notebook. As I took the seat next to him, I swear I heard an almost inaudible frustrated sigh followed by the scribbling sound of his pen.

The next twenty five minutes of class went by in a haze. I never heard a word of what Mr. Molina said and found myself resting my face against the cold marble table, my arms folded tightly around my stomach, eyes shut hard and several tears threatening to break free and roll down my cheeks as the images of my dreading nightmare continued to flow back and forth as they pleased. It didn't matter if I had my eyes opened or closed…

Through the curtains of hair that covered my sweaty face I found Cullen's amber eyes scrutinizing me anxiously. I wasn't sure if he was aware that I could see him perfectly whilst he slowly moved his fisted hand towards my direction, stopping close to my left shoulder, barely touching it.

While wondering why he done such a thing, his index finger gently brushed once against the fabric of my shirt and his lips produced something inaudible; and then, he swiftly pulled away in a quick movement, though his gaze lingered in mine.

My lips parted slightly as I processed his action, still confused.

Not knowing if Cullen's gesture triggered it or not, an intense wave of grief suddenly took over me, forcing my eyes to shut tightly again and swallow a deep sob. The devastating agony in my chest seared and throb violently, I found myself gasping loudly for breath.

_I have to get out of here!_ My head was spinning, an increasing ring inside my ears.

Edward whispered something but I didn't pay attention to it. I felt myself sit up, grab my pack and run past the teacher and through the door in a haze. I heard Mr. Molina call my name in surprise but I kept running.

My footsteps echoed through the deserted hallway; there wasn't a single person in sight. My first intention was to make it to the Jeep and drive away, but my plans were immediately aborted when the Principal and his secretary emerged from their office and stood in the middle of the hall, blocking my way out.

_Shit! _I panicked as I hid myself behind the lockers. My back pressed against the door knob and I instinctively opened it, getting inside and hiding from their view.

The empty classroom was dim lighted, the drapes were pulled down and there was a small hint of chemical in the air. It reminded me of photo-shop back home as I squinted my eyes trying to see properly. I noticed several squared papers hanging on threads close to the wall.

Hoping that this classroom would remain deserted for the rest of the period, I felt my back collide against the wall and I let myself fall to the ground. Pulling my knees towards my chest and fastening them with my arms, I placed my forehead between them once more. Tears soaked my jeans and shirt in-spite my huge effort not to cry.

_I need you.__ I can't do this…_ I thought as I pulled my phone out of my pack and dialed his number. He answered on the first ring.

"Jake…" I choked.

"Where are you? School?"

"Yes" my throat closed in.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes" his husky voice breathed through the phone before he hung up.

A tiny warm feeling of hope sparked inside my aching heart as the thought of having Jacob Black close; I placed the phone inside my jacket, strapping my pack to my shoulder and began getting up.

Then, the door opened and I cringed. _Damn it!_ I winced at the thought of getting busted skipping school. But to my surprise…. and annoyance, it wasn't a teacher who walked in.

"Edward, what…?" I blinked irritated.

Cullen stood in front of me looking down at my unmoving position against the wall. His face was smooth and his lips were pursed. _What are you doing here?_ Fire rose inside my stomach.

"You forgot your book on the table…" velvet flew out of his lips as he spoke, his eyes pierced right through mine. I couldn't hold his gaze, instead, it fell on the small purple object he held on his hand; my book.

"How did you know I was here?" my brows pulled together in confusion. _Are you following me?_

He took a slow step, getting closer; I felt myself catch my breath as I tried to take one back but the wall was on my way. There were definitively several things about him that confounded me: I felt frightened, a bit drawn but most of all, annoyed as hell. The last sentiment was probably because of all the previous rage-outbursts featuring this antagonistic character and yours truly. But, deep inside my subconscious, I knew that there was there's more to him than what meets the eye.

He took another slow step and my heart skipped a beat. I squinted my eyes glowering at him. "What do you w-…?" I began to fume.

"You haven't been sleeping well" his eyes pained as he spoke, I felt them burn the dark circles under mine; his red lips pulled down in a frown.

The words got stuck on my throat and a heavy sob began to build in my chest. My sight grew blurry again, so I just gaped at him, wide-eyed. I was about to state that it wasn't any of his business, when he sighed, cutting me off.

"You are frightened, confused" he continued to whisper before I said another word "The pain is so much that you wonder if you can bear it alone…" each of his words blasted a new hole in my chest; breathing turned painful again but I tried hard not to show any sign of emotion. Specially not to him, but I knew wasn't fooling anyone… I felt a tear bitterly roll down so I cursed under my breath.

"S-Stop…" I choked; anger and pain shaking me.

"Kris…" he spoke softly, his minty breath caressed the wet skin of my cheeks. I felt goosebumps on my arms.

"Cullen…" I gritted my teeth "Just… don't, ok? I can't… not today…I" My voice broke and it came out as a plea. My eyes met his for a brief moment and then I looked away; it confused me how much he understood what I felt at this precise moment. And at the same time, it infuriated me that he spoke as if he knew me at all… _HIM OUT OF ALL PEOPLE!!_

The vibration of my phone made me jump slightly; I answered it in relief.

_Jake_.

"I'm here" the husky voice I longed to hear spoke through the other side of the line.

"I'll be right there" my heart warmed up a little as I hung up. "I need to go" I looked up at Cullen and I froze as I took in his expression. His eyes were charcoal once again, his face slowly twisted in anger, breathing faster and balling his hands into fists.

"I don't think that is a wise …" the words came out through his gritted teeth; flaring his nose.

"I'm not asking for your advice" my tone harsh. He was doing it again and I wasn't sure if I could keep it together anymore. Before I thought about it too much, I walked to the door, but he was there before I even touched the knob. _How on earth did he do that?_

"Kristen, listen to me. You should stay aw-…"

"Oh, you aren't starting with _that _again, are you!?" I snapped exasperated, shaking my hands in outrage as reached closer for the knob; I avoided touching his hand that rested there, making my escape impossible. Electricity sparked at my fingertips.

"I really need to go Cullen" I said bitingly "get away from the door"

"No" determination in his voice. His jaw tightened and he locked in place. He was really tall, almost as tall as Jacob. And even tough I should feel intimidated by his height and the fact that he was stronger than me, the irritation and anger that flowed inside my body MADE ME SEE RED!

"NO?" I rose my eyebrows in disbelief; my voice sounding furiously loud.

"_No_" his eyes flashed back dangerously, his jaw setting loudly.

_Why you__ son of a…_

"If you don't get away from _that_ door _this_ instant and let me through…" I spat menacingly as tremors took hold of me "I am going to start screaming for help at the top of my lungs" my fists were balled up already. I took a step towards him and he stiffened.

"And when help arrives… I will tell them that you locked me inside this room against my will and you were trying to get your way with me…" my chest rose up and down quickly as my jagged breathing increased. His eyes squinted at my words, doubting if I were capable or not on fulfilling my threat.

"Don't think they'll believe me, huh?" shooting him a blazing glare I placed my hand around the collar of my shirt and pulled it hard, the fabric slightly ripping apart and one of the buttons coming off. An evil smile spread across my lips when I saw his eyes widened in surprise and a little bit of shock… _You don't know what I'm capable at this moment, so don't mess with me!_

"NOW MOVE AWAY FROM THE FUCKING DOOR, CULLEN!" My infuriated shout echoed loudly inside the room. His eyes flashed but he didn't flinch, instead, he remained frozen in place.

Taking his stance as a challenge, I gathered as much air as I could and began building up a good scream, but then… he unlocked the door and took a step back so I stormed out of it, fuming.

_The nerve… __!_

"You don't understand!" he called back as I ran with all my strength across the long corridor. I had the urge to shout at him to fuck off, but remained silent. All this rage outburst of mine was really starting to freak me out…

My body collided against someone's back as I made a turn, knocking the air right out of my stomach. Taking two steps backwards trying to steady myself I cursed angrily when he spun around.

"Well, well, well… Where is the fire, Evans?" Connor's dark eyes flashed taking a menacing a step towards me. The other two idiots standing next to him smiled and closed in.

_This __was unbelievable!! An idiot after another one!! Definitively not my day._

"You seemed all hot and bothered…" he licked his lips as he spoke, his eyes falling on my ripped shirt; a mischievous grin twisted his face. "I was wondering if I could help you out with that…"

An animalistic growl erupted from my chest and he smiled pleased. "Oh, I do love them all feisty and wild…" he laughed and so did the others. "Come on Evans. This will be our little secret" he winked and took a step closer.

_Disgusting son of a bitch! _"Get out of my way Connor" it came out as a menacing hiss.

"Now, why would I do that?" he asked mockingly, his eyes flashing.

For a split of a second, I hesitated on screaming for Jake's help. I knew he would beat the shit out of these guys but I wasn't sure if he could hear me or not; I didn't know how far away in the parking lot he was.

"I haven't got time for this" I tried to walk past him, but he simply got on my way again. _"Let me through!"_ red spots blocked my view and I began to tremble out of control.

He laughed acidly. "Make me" he looked down on me baring his teeth.

"You've chosen a _really fucked up time_ to mess with me…" my voice rasped in anger and then is when I felt it… bubbling up inside me, every single pore ready to burst.

Aggressive waves of static and electricity ripping my fingertips apart… I closed my eyes and my breathing come out jagged and husky. My hands reached for my face, pressing them against the temples; I felt the floor slightly tremble under my feet and a piercing ringing in my ears. I gritted my teeth trying to muffle myself from screaming.

"Hey, did you feel that?" one of them spoke, a hint of alarm in his tone. The other two didn't seem to have heard him, but I did.

And yes… _I felt it._

"Aw, I think you made her cry, Con" the voice sounded far away; Connor's laugh boomed inside my head and I knew that all little control I had left, was unbound.

"Come here baby, let me give you a hug" his reeking breath hit my nose and felt his soapy fingers touch my wrist.

My eyes snapped open flashing at him, a guttural-threatening snarl erupted through my lips. Connor's laugh faded and his eyes widened in shock.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I shrieked enraged as one of the glass windows that led to the grounds burst loudly into billions of pieces. Suddenly the lockers thrashed violently whilst a couple of trashcans bolted against the wall. The lamps on the ceiling swayed and the light flickered non-stop, adding an eerie mood to the scene. But most of all, the ground shook angrily under our feet, making one of them fall hard on his ass.

"Earthquake…" Connor said under his breath.

"Oh no baby… this isn't Earthquake!" I spat through my teeth, rage's bitter taste at the tip of my tongue. I barely recognized my own voice.

My finger flicked quickly once and Connor went flying through the air and smashed against one of the lockers. His head banged so loudly, I heard him groan in pain. I flicked it again as he flew against the opposite wall and this time I was pretty sure he fell unconscious.

A pleased feeling spread through my chest when I saw his limp body on the ground. I didn't recognize myself anymore; it was as if I were a completely different person. But quite frankly, I didn't care… not one bit.

"What the fuck…?" the guy with curly hair gaped at the sighting, his eyes wide with horror as he jerked his head towards Connor's direction once more and then back to me. Without hesitating, I turned to him and he collided against the entrance of the girl's bathroom, denting it. I was about to hit him again when I saw with the corner of my eye the third guy who'd fallen a second before, scramble numbly on his feet showing all intentions of running away.

"Leaving so soon?" I hissed and with the slightest movement of my hand, he fell flat on his stomach, knocking the breath out of his chest and smashing his head hard on the ground. _This will teach you to mess with me…_ but before I aimed at him again…

"_That's enough!"_ an authoritative voice ordered in my ear, shaking me completely; but as my eyes darted around, no one was in sight.

I blinked several times and felt the rush of rage leave me at once. Confused, I took two steps back away from the guy on the floor, slowly spinning around. A bucket of iced-cold water fell upon me as I realized I was being watched.

Standing next to the fire alarm, just a couple of feet from me, was Edward Cullen. His face unreadable, his lips pursed. A hint of disapproval and anger flashed through his dark eyes only for a second, then, they became cold again.

I silently wondered how come I didn't see him standing there before… irritation crawling up on me as I realized that this was the _second_ time today that he'd been following me! I had the urge to shout at him to shove off and leave me in peace but I simply glared at him with all my might, feeling my eyes began to prickle.

We stayed linked like this for what felt like an eternity but I knew it was merely a second. His frozen piercing eyes sending me chills down my spine as my hatred ones sent him all the resentment and anger I felt for myself up at this moment.

_How long had he been standing there? Had he seen everything? _

But instead of cringing at the thought, my blood began to boil again. I felt myself slipping once more, so before I lost my head, I picked my pack, turned around and ran towards the door.

"Wait" I heard an almost inaudible whisper.

_No!_ I answered in my head, determined not to be exposed in front of him anymore.

Tears of rage, resentment, humiliation, but most of all, _fear_ streamed down my cheeks as I made it to the door of the building, down the stairs and straight to the lot.

My eyes darted for a second looking for Jacob, finding him on the side walk a few feet from me. As soon as he took in my appearance, his face became worried and broke in a small run towards me, crushing me against his chest in a tight embrace when I was within his reach.

You'd might expect him to start spinning as he usually did when he greeted me like that, but… the twirling never came. Instead, he held me even tighter, burying his face in my hair, placing his warm lips on my ear.

"I'm so sorry" his fingers knitted trough my hair "I'm so sorry, honey" he kissed my wet cheek softly and held me tighter still. I felt myself break in his arms and began crying frantically, my nails digging in his back, muffling my screams in his chest, soaking his shirt in seconds.

Jake didn't speak another word, he just held me there, safe in his arms, preventing me from shattering into pieces. He knew exactly how I felt and why I cried. But most of all, knew that no matter what he'd say or what anybody else said, nothing, _nothing_ was bringing them back. NOTHING!

He held me until my erratic breathing was calmer and my frantic screams became pained sobs. My feet touched the ground again as he slowly put me down, one of his hands around my waist whilst the other one brushed the hair away from my face.

Through teary eyes I met his, there was a trace of anguish in them; his dark brows were pulled together and his lips were in a thin line. I hated worrying him like that. I completely loathed myself for causing Jacob this pain.

"Let's go" his warm breath caressed my wet lashes and I nodded once.

Supporting most of my weight, he easily carried me by the waist all the way to my car. Took the keys out of my jacket and placed me swiftly at the passenger's seat. He kissed my forehead before fastening my seat belt.

"I'm taking you home, ok…"

"NO!" I almost screamed in panic, taking him off guard "Could… could I stay with you today? P-please? Aunt Lily's not home and…" my eyes watered again, but he cut me off softly.

"I wasn't leaving you…" his eyes smoldered, his forehead creased as if the thought of me thinking that he would leave, pained him "If you'd rather come to my house, then there's where we are going" he gave me a half smile. I immediately nodded, relief relaxing my tense muscles a bit.

The next second, he was on the driver's seat, pulling the Jeep in reverse and out of the lot. Through the side mirror I noticed someone standing in the entrance of the school, but I looked away, avoiding his gaze.

_He had seen everything! _

_He'd been there when I lost it!_

_It was only a matter of time before they found Connor and the others unconscious. Ugh, I should have hidden them or something! But, what good would have THAT done? Once they're awake, they would talk._

_And there'd been a witness. Cullen… _

_I wonder how long will it take him to spread the word so everybody can find out that I was a freak..._

_I had to make a plan… I had to run! _

_Leave!_

More tears broke free at the thought of leaving Aunt Lily with this baggage and shame. But most of all, I was crying because it meant that I had to leave him… Jacob. My Jacob.

The boy that I loved…

* * *

**Well, here you have it :)**

**Her secret is out! Cullen already knows and she's dreading he'll spill the beans.**

**Please tell me what you think about it… and hang on because there'****s still more to come.**

**This chapter was really long, so I've only uploaded the first half. The o****ther one will be the next chapter 3 I'll update it a.s.a.p**

**Leaving Jacob **** -the thought of it just brings tears to my eyes- sniff**

**The Masaltoff: here you go, hope you like! *hugs* (there will be more of Jacob in the next chapter, I promise) *winks***

**Silvern Haze: nice to know you are ok, you had me worried there! *hugs***


	14. Breathe Me

**Breathe Me –Sia-**

**Help, I have done it again**

**I have been here many times before**

**Hurt myself again today**

**And, the worst part is there's no-one else to blame**

**Be my friend, hold me**

**Wrap me up, unfold me**

**I am small and needy**

**Warm me up and breathe me **

* * *

"Honey, honey! Shhh, shhhh, calm down…" warm thumbs softly brushed away the frightened tears from my soaked cheeks.

"It's ok" I heard him whisper over and over again in the most soothing way he could mustard, but behind his calm tone, hints of worry and pain managed to break through.

My eyes continued shut, afraid that if I'd open them, the scenes from the nightmare would materialize.

Slowly, the shouts of the angry mob outside the door were drown away by the raindrops that continuously fell on the rooftop above us; the threatening growls in the woods were easily forgotten as my heart recognized and responded to the husky voice of the guardian angel that kept telling me that all was well.

"Come here" I felt myself carefully being pulled from under the covers; a pair of mild arms wrapped themselves tightly around my shaking frame, securing me there. I trembled once I made contact with his skin.

"Your hands are freezing" he gasped lowly whilst rubbing them between his, which were incredibly warm.

It took me a few more seconds to realize that I was awake and… safe.

"Jake…" I breathed his name in relief, hugging myself to him as if my dear life depended on it; my forehead rested against the hollow of his neck, the tip of my nose touched the smooth exposed skin there. He sighed and squeezed me even tighter.

I took a deep breath, trying to control the sobbing that still had me shaking while more tears continued to rain down, wetting his shirt. In the first breath I took in his _scent_. It was rather comforting; I found myself needing more of it within seconds.

A wave of calm slowly spread over my exhausted soul after each breath I inhaled.

He continued to hold me without saying a word; both of us just waiting for my breathing and body temperature to return to normal. The throbbing inside my chest was barely noticeable, instead, the rhythm of my heartbeat became slow, calm… and in some way, it sounded a bit pleased.

It was amazing how Jacob brought me such ease and comfort during these horrible moments, no matter how dark they were and how frightened I felt.

_H__e's indeed my guardian angel. _A break of a smile began to pull at the corners of my lips as I allowed myself to think that. Shyly I looked up at him but my heart stopped for a moment as I took in his expression.

"That was even worse than the last one" he whispered mostly to himself as if lost in thought. I saw his forehead creased, the sound of his voice became pained.

The thin layer of comfort surrounding me was shattered into pieces as I drank in his words; I abruptly pushed myself away from his chest, my eyes wide in horror met the sorrow and the worry of his.

"Last one?" I struggled to find my voice and blinked rapidly, trying to focus.

He nodded once, his dark eyes penetrating mine for a second and then slowly traveling across the small room, falling on something on the floor. I instinctively did the same and quickly darted from one side to the other. A shot of fear mixed with shame rippled trough my stomach as I noticed the tool box that used to be on top of his bookshelf was viciously trashed across the floor amongst other objects like books and his PC. I grimaced at the sight.

A big dent on the opposite wall next to the door frame made me swallow hard. My eyes went wide fright when they fell on the object that provoked it.

"The wrench shot directly at me" he said gravely and continued to stare at the wall "It missed by an inch" he winced at his words and I gasped loudly, feeling the air being punched out of my stomach in a painful way.

_NO!_ I shook my head in denial. _How could I?_

I froze for several seconds until a voice inside my head screeched at the top of it's lungs _I shot that damn thing straight at Jacob!!! - _I clenched my teeth to stop me from screaming_- I could have seriously injured him!!! _

_What if it'd…! _I didn't allow myself to even think of finishing the thought. My hands flew to my face in desperation, nails digging in the flesh as hard as they could.

"Hey, hey! Stop that" his fingers were on mine before I could injure my self badly.

"What the hell...?" I couldn't breathe "What am I do…-?" my chest began to burn again while I choked in my own repulsion. He continued to hold both of my hands in his, avoiding them to fly back to my face.

"What's-what's WRONG with me?" I trashed back and forth in Jake's embrace, trying to break free. I wanted to get as far away as possible before I could hurt him again; but his russet arms turned into iron once he understood what I was trying to do.

"Let me go Jacob…" I pleaded between furious tears, my fingers trying desperately to free themselves from his, but I knew that it was rather weak and hopeless. Still, I had to try.

"No" he whispered softly against my hair.

"Let me go!" my voice shook desperately and I continue with the trashing.

"No"

I hadn't noticed that I was completely nestled up on his lap; his forehead pressed gently against my temple, his mouth was_ so_ near my skin, that every one of his breaths tickled my cheek and made me shake.

_He was so close._

I shivered at this discovery, instinctively wetting my lips.

"Jake pl-" I half tilted my face on the side, trying to meet his gaze, but my protest was caught up in mid sentence.

"It's alright" His lips accidentally brushed against the skin between my jaw and my ear making my toes curl up and my cheeks and lips begin to prickle. An unwilling low gasp burst free as the exquisite feeling took me by surprise.

"Please…" I whimpered, my eyes shutting tightly, savoring the new sensation of having him _this _near whilst wishing he would just let me go.

"Listen to me" he breathed against my ear, my eyes rolling to the back of my head "No matter _what_ it is… I'm here, always"

He kissed the top of my head and rested his chin there, his fingers playing with mine.

While sobbing in silence, I swooned against his frame and gave up the struggle, my hands becoming limp between his.

_God, I want to believe you! I want to believe you so badly…_

"Jake, you don't understand" I spoke against the fabric of his shirt, stealing another breath infused by his aroma. It was making me dizzy, but I couldn't help it, I was already a junkie to it.I licked my bottom lip again, savoring his breath..

Heaving a deep sigh, he slowly placed his thumb under my chin; with an unhurried-delicate movement Jake made me look up at him; my cheeks were flushed before I met his beautiful eyes.

"No matter what you tell me…" his gaze was scorching "I'm not leaving you" a small smile lit up his lips. My brows pulled together in disbelief and confusion to his words; he sounded so sure of what he spoke.

"Never" he emphasized the word looking straight at my eyes, piercing them. There was so much devotion in his declaration that it made my soul want to cry.

I couldn't take it, I didn't deserve this extraordinary creature. Not after what he'd seen, what I'd almost done to him. I was an aberration, a threat to all around me…

_I was dangerous! _

My jaw clenched tightly as it all sunk in; the crease in my forehead became prominent as desperation took over me.

He hunched a little, trying to find my eyes when I looked away.

"Hey" he said softly "You have to learn to trust me, Kristen" there was a plea in his dark eyes. My chest began to burn in reaction to his words, there was so much hurt and grief in them that it was making it unbearable to me.

"I trust you" it rushed out in a desperate whisper. It surprised me how much my hands ached to touch his face and smooth away the worry in it, to comfort him the way he was comforting me but, I just couldn't make myself move.

He came even closer and the static began to pull me in like a magnet towards him; my heartbeat picking up quickly.

"Then please…" his thumb kindly brushed a tear that traveled to the corner of my mouth "talk to me" his temperate breath begged whilst it saturated my senses.

I was under his haze.

I glanced through my lashes and noticed that his full lips were just inches away from mine; a huge struggle grew within me that was just to strong to ignore. I wanted so badly to close the gap between us and kiss them, but, insecurity filled my thoughts again allowing me to falter.

_What if he didn't feel the same way? _I cringed as fear crept up on me.

_I can't. Not like this. You aren't good enough for him. _I shook my head twice and pulled my face away from his reach; shame, confusion and guilt shadowed upon me; he closed his eyes once, a hint of sadness more than frustration shadowing upon his glorious face.

I sighed, and so did he.

There was nothing more I longed for than to be truly _honest _with Jake; I desperately needed to tell him _everything: _my fears, my thoughts, my nightmares, _my feelings for him_… EVERYTHING! But even I didn't fully comprehend what was happening to me. I was lost, scared, angry and frustrated.

I didnt know WHO I was or WHAT I was. I sighed heavily at my internal dilemma and he waited in silence, squeezing my hands every few seconds, easing off a little bit of the anxiety. Slowly, I began to make up my mind and decided that it was time for me to come clean with him.

So, after taking in several gulps of air, I tried to clear my head and thought hard on _what_ I was going to say to Jacob. I was at the point where the truth was just easier… there was no use on me trying to cover anything up.

_He had seen, he had heard and he had asked, promising to stay no matter what._ _The least I could do was to honest._ I grimaced knowing that there was a slight probability he would decide to cut me out of his life after this.

_Come on Kristen _I whispered to myself internally whilst gathering as much courage I could mustard _You wont find out if you don't try._

"I-I don't know how to control it" I blurted out in spite myself, breaking the silence; my eyes stayed glued to the floor avoiding the gaze I felt burning on the side of my face. "It just keeps slipping away…" my voice failed and suddenly I couldn't speak. It became quite hard to swallow, but i tried it anyways.

Jacob patiently waited, not pressuring me to continue at all; his temperate thumbs made slow, small circle patterns at the back of my hands, trying to soothe away my anxiety.

"I've noticed that somehow, it seems to be bonded with my emotions" my eyes fell on both of our hands "If my state of mind is calm, then, what ever this is, remains under control, but..." I shrugged, not completing the sentence.

With the corner of my eye, I saw him looking intently at me, his expression smooth. He didn't look like he was about to run for the door screaming out loud or anything, so I allowed myself to continue with my little confession.

"Hey, sometimes I even forget that _it's_ there; but a girl can dream, can't she" I laughed humorless, leaving a bitter taste in my tongue. My fingers turned into claws in reaction to my words, but Jake smoothed them back in his palms again and kept them there. An empathic sigh left his lips; more of his scent managed to go through my pores, slowly intoxicating me.

"The edge to my temper has been dangling by a thread lately…" I swallowed a sob, cracking my voice "any _spark_ of anger sets it off and then, there's no control over it. It just-" a shudder shook me at the thought and I instinctively looked back at him. My chest ached once I found the sorrow in his expression.

"It's alright" he whispered reassuringly against my ear, though his voce broke slightly towards the end.

_No! It wasn't alright!! It has never been alright!! _

"I lost it today Jake!!" I shook my head furiously, my eyes burned in shame while I locked gazes with him once more. I dont know what he saw in them, but his dark eyes widened once he met mine.

"I can easily find reasons or people to blame my outbursts on: the nightmares, today's date_, idiots _that cross my path…" _Cullen. _My own words made me sick to my stomach. "But the truth is…" I continued angrily "there's NO ONE to blame this on but ME" the words wounded me even deeper that I could manage.

"I don't believe-"

"Three people are hurt because of me, Jacob!" I snapped at him impatiently once he tried to disagree. Furious tears broke free again and I clenched my teeth.

"I could have _seriously _injured them if I hadn't been stopped by Cul-…" Jacob stiffened at my unfinished statement, I felt him tremble slightly under me. A shot of fear rippled through the pit of my stomach once I noticed what I'd almost said.

_Damn it!_

"You know what the worst part of it is?" I choked bitterly, trying to distract him from whatever he was thinking.

"I actually _enjoyed_ it" I clenched my teeth as I spoke, finally making him look up at me. "Every _single _second of it" my voice shattered painfully.

I remembered the incredible rush I felt as I lifted Connor's limp body and smashed it at will against the wall several times like a worthless piece of cloth. The way anger ignited a lust for vengeance, for causing agony to all of those who have tried to hurt or control me. The pleasure of provoking fear in those who some how terrified me once. I simply craved to hurt them as much as the had hurt me; i wanted to hear them beg for mercy, to actually hear them weep...

_What the hell is wrong with me? What kind of monster have I become?_

His hardened face softened slightly as he continued to look at me for a few silent moments. His chest rose up as he took in a deep breath of air, steadying himself. Then swiftly released my hand and placed his thumb at the side of my cheek, caressing it delicately. His forehead made its way towards my temple again and he inhaled once more.

The image of Edward Cullen standing a couple of feet from me wavered inside my mind's eye for a second. The expression in his pale face as he ordered me to stop was branded in my memory. There was shock and disappointment in his voice, anger and worry in his eyes. My stomach began to stir as I remembered those seconds in his presence.

_I wonder how long it will take him to…_

Jacob shook his head to himself and pulled me out of my conflicted mind. I focused my gaze back at his face and noticed that his lips were in a thin line, his brows were still pulled together in concern, but there was no trace of anger lingered in his expression.

He closed in on me again and sighed.

"You could have told me" he whispered huskily against the skin of my neck, his hot breath made the small hairs on my back and arms stood up in a chill. I was immediately drawn into the haze of his voice, feeling myself swirl in it. The way he held me at this moment was the _closest_ I've ever been to him before; his voice was so charged up with emotion that my breathing sped up and heat flooded my face.

Our position was so intense, so intimate, that it was driving me insane; the need, this sensation, was at the pit of my stomach, on the tip of my fingers and under my ribcage. On my lips, on my skin, on my tongue. Everywhere.

I was loosing my mind.

_H__e couldn't possibly be…_

"I was afraid you wouldn't…" my throat went dry "that you wouldn't want me" I choked on a sob.

His lips swiftly brush against the line of my neck as I tried to speak; my eyes rolled to the back of my head again, succumbing to the amazing feeling. But something made him stop.

"Kristen, could you please look at me?" for the first time, he sounded upset. I quickly popped my eyes open and shot my head up to see his face.

"Why on earth would you even _think_ something like that? Don't you know me _at all_?" there was an edge of resentment and demand to his words.

"I'm a freak" I held my gaze, resentment mirroring his tone.

"_NO, you are not._ And I would never think that of you, ever" he said seriously, locking gazes with me. There was no trace of mockery at his statement.

I felt my face grimace.

"A pain in the ass… maybe" he squinted his eyes playfully at me, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips again "but definitively not a freak" he chuckled softly, making my mouth twitch a bit in spite of myself.

_Leave it to Jacob__ to always find the right words to make me smile through the tears._

"And you are wrong…" he tilted his head slightly to the side, his eyes softening. One of his fingers slowly brushed a lock away from my brow, refastening behind my right ear. "I will always want you, no matter what you are or what you do…" a breathtaking smile warmly spread across his beautiful features.

My tense posture relaxed completely as I took a relieved breath of fresh air, filling my wounded lungs and mending them immediately. I felt myself loose a hundred pounds of hatred-weight off my back at Jacob's sincere words.

_He wants me… no matter what. _

_He will always want me!_ I was so happy that my heart swelled up and I could practically scream out of joy. He held my gaze for a few moments, the intensity in his eyes was told me that he fiercely meant every single word.

"I don't deserve you…" I instinctively leaned towards him, pressing my forehead to his. His skin was warm, really really warm.

"Well, I give you that" he sighed lowly, the tip of his nose nuzzled sweetly against mine. "You deserve much better…" he whispered for only me to hear; my eyes lingering in his bottom lip as he spoke.

"But I want _you…_" the fierce words rushed breathlessly out of my mouth before I could stop them; the instant boldness caught me by surprise as well as it did him, making both of us freeze in place.

Jacob trembled under me and sucked in a short breath of air, making me instantly cringed at what I'd said; my cheeks blushed crimson red and squeezed my eyes shut. I was so embarrassed that I just wanted to bury myself six feet under and just die.

_What the hell are you thinking!?!?!? How could you-…!?!?_

But before I continued scowling at myself, I heard Jacob whispered something unintelligible under his breath. The way he pronounced these words in native tongue made my knees weak and all my body felt mushy and warm; I swallowed compulsively as I reminded myself to breathe. My lids shyly opened in spite of the effort to keep them close, meeting Jacob's dark eyes blazing back at me. The intensity of his gaze was so overwhelming that my heart was now thundering violently against my ribcage.

There was a longing question that burned behind those beautiful brown eyes of his; a question that neither one of us was brave enough to articulate out loud.

_Yes_. I answered him in silence, watching his chest rise and fall in an elaborated way; then suddenly, he held his breath. My face flushed again, even hotter this time, it was somehow combined with the heat radiating from Jake' form close to me. Millions of butterflies invaded my stomach in awareness of what might happen next.

Slowly, _too slowly_, he skimmed his nose swiftly across the burning skin of my cheek, my eyes fluttering shut in delicious agony that I welcomed with opened arms. With the same laziness, he continued to travel over my eyelid, then to my eyebrow, down the bridge of my nose and finally stopping at the hollow between the tip of my nose and the beginning of my upper lip. I compulsively licked my lips again, pleading to accidentally touch his.

The skin of his lips was less than a few millimeters away from mine; the closeness had me beyond reason. His chest rose erratically against my shoulder and his Adam's apple bobbed intensely as he swallowed hard. I merely lost it when he licked his bottom lip and slightly made contact with mine.

_Please… _my lips trembled, craving to feel his on mine.

Our jagged breaths blended into one in as they got amidst in this pure, blissful agony that was quickly consuming us. Then, none of us moved; the entire Earth had stopped and everything around us: time, space, air... froze.

His lips carefully brushed against mine once, and it came clear for both of us that we had just crossed the boundary of friendship. A jolt of electricity shook my frame violently when I heard him moan softly at the contact.

Jake's lips were extremely soft, warm and really careful; they felt impossibly delicious against mine. A low gasp went through mine as he parted them slightly and kissed me fully on the mouth for the first time; my heart, my soul, my whole existence rejoiced at the amazing feeling that I simply didn't believe it was possible to experience.

He slowly kissed me a second time, molding to my lips, turning this almost foreign feeling into a vital need. But suddenly stopped; his breathing out of control and both of us trembled as we parted slightly.

"Kris…?" he whispered coarsely against my lips, hesitating. I could sense he was giving me a moment to decide whether I was sure I wanted this, that I wanted him or not. But my mind was made up before he even had a chance to doubt. I have never been so sure about something in my life. All I needed was HIM. I wanted HIM and ONLY HIM.

"It's ok" I breathed choking on a gasp that was full of need, of desire; my chest shook violently at the discovery of this new need; my heart went out of control at the intensity of the moment. And this time, it was I who pressed my lips against his, urgency all charged up in them. I heard him catch his breath, but didn't dare open my eyes to see his expression.I had the need to show him that I wanted him. He needed to know that there was no doubt in my mind.

Hesitantly, he brought his blazing fingertips to the side of my cheek, stroking it lightly, adding a sweeter touch to the moment. He pulled gently away from our kiss and looked me in the eye, begging one last time for reassurance. I nodded my head in a daze and he smiled, responding immediately to my answer and cupping my face in his enormous hand, his thumb lazily caressing my bottom lip.

He sighed pleased and kissed me again, his fingers trembling as they roamed at the nape of my neck, securing me there. His other hand stopped at the small of my back, both of them pulling me even closer to him, deepening the soft kiss that I welcomed anxiously. My hands reached out and rested at his chest, feeling his heart thud hard against my palm. I guessed he was as nervous as I was. Shyly, both my hands moved up to his broad shoulders that hardened at my touch; my fingers entwined through the locks of his hair and I couldn't resist the need to pull them lightly, causing him to gasp against my mouth.

I smiled. So did he, slowly pulling away to give a chance to catch our breaths.

"Jake" my voice came out strangled. "I can't believe we…"

"Neither can I…" Jake replied in an equally strangled voice. His eyes smoldered once he met mine; it felt as if he was looking at me for the first time. There was something different in them, i couldnt quite explain it correctly, but there was so much emotion and need. A beautiful smile that was plastered on his face melted me away.

GOD he was so breathtakingly beautiful.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to…"

"Not as much as I have" he teased and crashed his lips against mine a second later.

This time, his kiss turned less cautious. His blazing lips were fiery and urgent, but never forceful, always allowing me to savor each second of it. With out even thinking much of it, I parted my lips slightly as an invitation, teasing his bottom lip with mine. I was surprised by my own boldness, regretting my action a second later.

_What if Jake didn't…?_

But before I could even finish the thought, he smoothly slipped his tongue into my mouth and a soft moan escaped my lips involuntarily, followed by his own. I swayed in his embrace, falling completely at his mercy. I wasn't prepared for the rush of static and heat that flooded through my body violently; making my heart thunder deafeningly against my ears, and my frame shake erratically.

The exquisite sensation of his soft, warm tongue against mine was a thousand times more that I could bargain for. It was exhilarating; thousands of electrical waves irradiated through my pores, aching for more contact, for more of him. We broke apart for a short moment and I silently cursed my vital need for breathing. I felt my reckless teenage hormones take control over my impulses as I shifted my position and straddled his lap, placing my knees against the edge of the bed. Jacob's eyes grew wide with surprise at my bold gesture and I threw him a devilish smile.

My whole body touched his now, and that was exactly what I was looking for. The heat irradiating through his clothing made me flush even deeper. Suddenly, it was too hot for me; the thought of taking my shirt off crossed my mind for a second, but I thought better. _Get a hold of yourself._

I placed my hands behind his neck closing in to him, my chest heaved violently against his, causing him to brush against the sensible areas of my skin, which almost made me faint. He took a deep, shuddering breath and pulled my lips to his again, a little more aggressively. I pushed my body hard against his this time and threw myself into the kiss. I hardly noticed that we both began moving a little against each other, readjusting ourselves and seeking even more contact. By this time, i wasnt even sure if I was alive or not. I just couldnt feel my heart anymore.

I moved once again against him and he let out a little groan that teared me up inside, making me feel like a whole different person. I liked it. I wondered how far I could push this little boundary as i let myself get carried away. Teasingly, I traced his bottom lip with my tongue and then placed it between my teeth and grazed against it, slowly increasing the intensity. But when Jacob gasped a second later, I thought I had bitten him way too hard; but suddenly my misty mind registered several unpleasant thuds around us and I abruptly pulled away. Then i felt Jake clutch me protectively against his chest whilst I saw through the gap between his arms, a pair of pliers shoot aggressively pass us, coming from his recently trashed tool box that lingered on the floor.

_Im doing it again!_

"Fuck" I cursed under my breath, embarrassed tears spilled angrily against the hollow of his neck. "I can't even… I mean, I..."

"Kristen" he called my name softly, but I shook my head and braced myself even closer to him.

"Kris" his hand was on my hair, stroking it sweetly. "Honey?"

"No" I began sobbing uncontrollably at this point.

"Kristen" he carefully placed both of his hands on either side of my face and pulled me gently to meet his gaze. I opened one eye and then the other and his expression stunned me; somehow I guess I expected to find annoyance or even exasperation in his features, but instead… there was so much commitment and adoration that it made my heart swell again.

He kissed me in the most sweetest, softest way I could never thought possible, his fingers twisted tenderly between my curls. I tasted my salty tears in his mouth as he continued to slowly showed me how much I meant to him. The tip of his tongue traced the outline of my lips before pulling away.

My head swam again and I had trouble breathing.

"We will figure something out" he pressed his forehead to mine "I promise you. We can do this. Together." he planted one last kiss on my swollen lips and cradled me back in his embrace.

_I love you_…

I breathed against his skin and felt my lids drop in the warmth of his hold. I let exhaustion seduce me into a deep sleep as I stayed protected in the hold of my guardian angel. In the arms of the love of my life.

* * *

**Hey there everyone! I ****know that I promise I would upload this chapter like ages ago, but to be honest, I rewrote it so many times that I was literally thinking of forgetting about it altogether :S**

**But, after the hundredth time, I actually felt it was right… so, please tell me what you think!!! *pleads on knees* It took me forever to write this…**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!! :) :D ;)**

**Oh, and btw… you should totally check out ****NeverAlone **** and ****Declaration ****both written by ****TheMasaltoff ****which are absolutely amazing *hearts ya Amysters***

**MAKE A WRITER HAPPY---**** REVIEW *hearts you big time for doing so***


	15. There's always a choice

**The Serendipity of my Existence**

**14. There is always a choice  
**

~I was feeling sad, can't help looking back  
Highways flew by. Run, run, run away... No sense of time  
Want you to stay, want keep you inside~

The Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs

* * *

"But what choice do I have, Jake?" a small amount of exasperation broke through my frustrated inquiry_. _

_W__hy couldn't he grasp the urgency in the situation? It looked pretty messed up from where I stood._

"I see your point Kristen, but…" he wavered for a second "all I'm saying is that you need to think this through" he shook his head slowly whilst readjusting the rear-view mirror of the Jeep, avoiding my gaze. I bit my lip in irritation and made a face when a pinch of pain made me notice that I'd bitten a little harder that intended.

I eyed him in silence for a few moments as we made our way to my house, the small crease between my brows had deepened, almost carved permanently. My frustrated sigh made Jake's grip on the wheel tighten slightly, but he remained silent, looking straight ahead as in deep in thought. His face was unreadable -not a single emotion there- it was simply smooth.

My mind began wondering what he might be thinking, but I was too much of a coward to try and find out; so I just pretended to get distracted by looking out the window. The shapes of the trees blended into smudges of olive, gray and charcoal and the bright-yellowish light of the full moon managed to peek through the gaps of the branches and ferns -adding a very calming view to the dark setting-. _ I will miss this place_.

But even so, the stillness emanating from this magnificent sight didn't seem to cause any soothing effect on me. _In fact_, my insides churned in anxiety and I had the sudden urge to scream. That's right, SCREAM!

Scream at what or at whom, exactly? I had no idea, but irritation and panic were consuming me; if I didn't do something about it _this instant, _another of my outbursts would certainly break through and I just couldn't afford to do this to Jacob again.

_He'__d put up with enough of my crap to still make him stand and watch me become 'Carrie White' all over._

Shuddering at the thought, I closed my eyes and focused on my slightly uneven breathing, silently wishing that I could contain all that was bubbling up inside of me and cage it.

"What about Lily, huh?" The abruptness of his question made my eyes snap open to quickly look at him. His grip on the wheel remained rigid and his face had hardened enough for me to notice the change.

"You think _this _wont hurt her?" he demanded. A sharp throb against my chest made me wince. I opened my mouth to reply back but shut it a second later, speechless.

"Disappearing out of her life just like that, -no notes, no explanations, no nothing-You think this WON'T kill her?" I tried to swallow down a huge lump that was on my throat, but didn't succeed.

_Of course I had thought about that_!

It burned deeply inside my heart to even think of leaving Aunt Lily with this hatred burden, but I didn't want to continue this agony and drag her down with me. I loved her and because I loved her, I had to leave. I knew it didn't make sense, but it was the only possible solution to my problem.

_COWARD!__ YOU ARE SUCH A COWARD!_ My brain shouted at myself, but I simply ignored it.

He didn't look down on me as he spoke, he continued to face the road instead. I could only see the outline of his cheek and jaw, but that was enough for me to perceive a mixture of pain and break of a scowl slowly spread through his features. His expression and the emotion in his voice made it clear that he was deeply troubled; it wasn't anger… it was more like _pain _and a slight hint of _resentment_

"You are the only one she has left here, Kristen" I flinched in my seat as soon as his words left his lips; the way they broke a little in the end, made my stomach squirm uneasy again and my heart throbbed painfully now.

_That was a really low blow, Jake. _I threw him an aching look and dropped my eyes to my hands, cracking my knuckles nervously. I knew it was a desperate measure to make me react, but still, it made me feel like shit.

Aunt Lily's beautiful face gradually became visible inside my mind; she smiled at me like she always did when I got home and kissed her on the cheek. But then her stunning smile slowly vanished and a deep-carved grimace took its place; her bright features darkened whilst her blue eyes filled with tears. There was so much anguish in her kind face that the thought of causing her pain because of my lack of restraint, was extremely unbearable.

My heart throbbed uneasily again whilst I blinked away the tears, my fingers quickly whipping them from my cheeks.

_Why am I always hurting __the people I love?!_

Stealing another glance at him and taking in his aggrieved stare, I finally understood what this was about.

Jacob had lost his mother when he was really young; car accident I was told –I swallowed a sob-. The dreadful tragedy had caused his small family to crumple down in unfathomable grief; but Jacob, being the youngest and most attached to his mother, shut down completely. Her loss devastated him, swallowed him entirely into a bleak abyss -at least that's what Aunt Lily mentioned to me once, when the topic came up a couple of years ago-.

Uncle Steve and Aunt Lily had been very close to Billy and Sarah Black; they've known each other for ages and when this misfortune came to pass, the strong bond of friendship between them grew even tighter; they were always there for eachother in time of need. Through the years, Billy and his family managed to find the strength to pull through and tried to carry on with their lives, even though they didn't fully recover.

Aunt Lily had been in a way, the motherly-figure that Jacob _missed so badly_; she'd always been there with kind words, warm hugs, encouraging smiles and hot meals. No one had to tell me that, because I knew my Aunt quite well. She _always _knew what to say when you were felt like crap and there was nothing like her _home-made hot apple-cinnamon pie_ to make you forget your troubles, even if it was just for a little while.

_Jacob loved her too._ He wanted to spare Lily any kind of heartache or sorrow, and honestly, I didn't blame him. I knew he would run with me even if I didn't ask him to – he would do it in less than a heart-beat- but the thought of hurting her in the process was both tearing us in pieces.

_It was very selfish of me to even think of asking him to__…-_

A sour taste lingered on the tip of my tongue and the pressure in my chest increased. The huge lump remained in my throat, turning me into a mute for a few moments. But, even if I _could speak_, I didn't know what I would say to Jacob; the rambling of simultaneous thoughts inside my head were making it impossible for me to form a coherent sentence. All I managed to do was close my eyes once more and release a profound sob that shook me fully from head to toes.

A couple of tears ran down my cheeks and I cursed at them. I've been crying so much lately. _You are such a girl… weak, breakable!!! _I wanted to seriously kick myself for being this emotional.

Suddenly, the car began to loose speed; I heard Jake pull the brake and cut the engine off.

_We couldn't possibly be there yet._ I threw a quick glance through the window. It was quite dark outside, except for the faded moonlight that was accompanying us. I couldn't see the house nor the lit block, so I figured that we'd pulled over the side of the road.

_But why?_

"Hey" his warm thumb gently traced the outline of my lower lip "Where ever you go, I _will_ follow" it was barely a whisper; he wiped away the moister in my cheeks slowly. I shyly met his gaze and notice that it had softened; he cupped my face in his hand and pulled me towards him, softly kissing the tip of my nose.

"I'm not leaving your side" he breathed sweetly; his temperate breath warmed me instantly whilst his lips met mine, moving across them in a _slow, soft way._ My whole body rejoiced at the intimacy of his contact, instantly craving for more. Our last kiss seemed so long ago; the instant I felt his lips, my skin became alive and fully aware of him, aware of his every movement.

_I was addicted to him__. A junkie!_

I leaned towards Jake as I continued to kiss him back mirroring his slow pace; my hand found its way around his neck and gently pulled him closer to me. He sighed pleased and brushed my cheek lightly with his fingertips once more. Reluctantly, he pulled away, scrutinized my dim-lit expression in silence and wavered for a moment before he spoke.

"There is _always _an alternative…" he began and I closed my eyes in frustration.

"Jake…" I sighed, shaking my head. He let out a sigh too, though his wasn't frustrated, it was deeper than that; it sounded exhausted, _defeated._

"Jacob, listen to me" I met his eyes, my tone begging for him to understand. "I _exposed myself_ in broad daylight!" the words came through my clenched teeth, my heart picked up at the memory, images flashing in my head. "Don't you think that…-"

"Kris, those _idiots_ were knocked out cold, I assure you that they won't remember a thing" he placed his hands gently on both sides of my face when I continued to shake my head in disagreement.

"And even if they decide to talk, _WHO will believe them?_" he brushed his thumb soothingly against my cheekbone "It will be so messed up that it wont make sense to anyone"

"I'm didn't mean _them_, I …" my eyes looked away from his as my unfinished sentence lingered in my lips. I couldn't help but squirm uneasily at what I just said –or didn't say, anyway-.

"If you are worried about Cullen… then don't" I flinched at the sudden coldness of his words; his hand froze in place and slowly left my skin, resting both of his _already balled-up fists _on top of the steering wheel; my body shivered at the loss of his warmth.

"Believe me, he's the _last person_ who should be taunting around on exposing someone's secret…" there was an edge of hostility in his trembled slightly and held on to the steering wheel, hard; I quickly looked from his hands to his face and became alarmed when I met the hatred mask that concealed his features.

"_Not when they have their own little stories to tell" _he gritted his teeth as he spoke mostly to himself.

I gaped at him, shocked at his heated reaction; the way Cullen's name triggered him was beginning to worry me. I noticed that it was common among them two. I didn't fully understand what was going on, but, I was more than sure that _this _–what ever it was- went **even deeper** than just a macho/testosterone conflict over some stupid territorial claim

_Oh, yes. It went m__uch deeper than that. _I suppressed a shiver as I remembered Cullen's similar reaction whenever Jake's name was mentioned.

_What the hell is going on between these guys?_

_And… __What did he mean by 'their own little stories to tell'?_ My stomach gave a slight lurch as the questions rumbled in my thoughts _What could Jake possibly know about Edward -or any of the Cullens, for that matter- that would force him to stay in the dark?_

Whilst having trouble swallowing my heart back into my chest, I tried to sound as serene as I could; slowly, I faced him.

"I don't unders…-"

He took in a deep slow breath, and closed his eyes for a second. His russet hands gripped the wheel tightly one last time and then relaxed them completely. I notice the incredible effort it took him to remain composed once again, but he was trying. I stared at him in silence, not daring to speak, -afraid that I might upset him again-. Slow, almost sluggishly, he turned towards me, his eyes warming up just a little, but not completely.

"Jake…" my voice shook.

I was about to ask what he meant about 'Cullen's little story' but my brain screeched 'shut the hell up you idiot'. I knew it would worsen things more, so my mouth shut again and I just gaped at him instead. I don't know what expression was plastered on my face, but Jake's turned worried as soon as he took mine in.

"It will be alright, honey; I promise you" he whispered, sounding comforting. "You have to learn to trust me" he pleaded and kissed my forehead lightly. The warmth of his lips and scent of his breath absorbed me into sweet embrace, achieving a few seconds of my distraction.

"I trust you" the air rushed out from my lungs as his lips settled on mine with the same sweet tenderness as our previous kiss; a pleased sigh rumbled gently from his chest that was immediately followed by my very own.

_God, this boy knows hot to kiss__. _My eyes fluttered once shut.

As I tried to lean closer to him, I cursed under my breath when the damned seatbelt refused to let me go –_worthless piece of…_-; still holding on to my lips, he gave a small chuckle and his fingers reached for the clasp, releasing me in a swift movement.

I felt myself smile as he embraced me against his chest; his warm fingers slowly roamed the length of my waist, traveling from my back all the way to my neck, finding my hair and gently playing with it; my hands brushed against his shoulder-blades, achingly pulling myself closer to him. But I just couldn't achieve my goal. The _stupid console_ of my Jeep was in the way preventing me to access what I was desperately seeking.

_Damned piece of junk! Who __the hell designed this thing!? _

But my silent nagging was quickly forgotten when his nipped my lips; I lost myself in the escalating intensity that grew within every passing second, his mouth becoming more urgent and demanding on mine. Shyly, my lips parted, inviting him in to which he responded with no hesitation. When the soft tip of his tongue traced the outline of my swollen lips and smoothly plunged in, a small moan shook me entirely; the delicate pressure of his hands against the small of my back hardened and a low growl rumbled deeply in the inside of his chest.

In a quick movement, his hands snaked around my waist and simultaneously as he pulled me over to his side I leapt over the console that was keeping us apart and landed on his lap; I straddled him with such _ease_ that he threw me a little impish smile before I reached his lips again, swallowing another of his quiet grunts.

Whilst savoring the intoxicating flavor that lingered in his mouth, I felt the warm trail his fingertips left across the skin of my lower back as they slowly roamed the hem of my shirt. Once boldness took over his actions, his curios fingers went deeper inside my shirt, reaching the edge of my bra; his finger traced the lace slowly from across the width of my back and gave a small chuckle when my breathing increased. Then, his hands lazily trailed up and down my spine, causing me to shiver in delight, I felt him smiled against my kiss and sighed pleased.

_S__uch a __**tease!**_

I almost jumped out of my skin when his lips trailed down my jaw line; I caught my breath at the exhilarating sensation and my eyes rolled to the back of my head. _Oh my God! _–I felt myself dying right there- My breathing turned erratic now, the muscles of my arms and legs contracted impulsively around him as I held him even closer and he did the same, encaging me in his arms in case I wanted to pull away. He held me so tight against his chest, that his uneven breaths and violent heart beats got confused with my own.

I felt lightheaded and completely dazed. _Wow._

His burning breath skidded over my collarbone and his lips came into contact with the hollow of my neck, making me whimper loudly whilst trashing in his embrace. A spark lit up in the pit of my stomach, sending violent waves of static all over my body and I felt myself slip again.

_Control. Control._

_Breathe, Kristen. Slow breaths, breathe._

My body loosened up a bit, turning still and squeezing my eyes tightly in desperation, feeling the tremors building up quickly.

_You have to__ take control, Jake is with you. You don't want to hurt him._

The soft lips made their way back to my neck and glided to my jaw, making me loose my weak intention of focus I so hard tried to gain… and I slipped.

As if standing in the epicenter of a small earthquake, the Jeep began shaking roughly under us, making me gasp in horror. The windows quivered hard, giving the impression that they would shatter in any second. Jake seemed too lost against my skin to notice what was happening, but a couple of seconds later, he froze under me and pulled away, and met my horrorstruck face.

"Kristen…" he rasped worriedly, his hands holding me steady by the shoulders.

My frame quivered at unison with our surroundings, my hands flew to my face as I desperately tried to recover some sort of control, but _it _was stronger than me. _It was too strong. _

My breath was caught in my lungs and the ringing in my ears was making me nauseous. It was the most horrible sensation I've experienced yet; my teeth clenched tightly, avoiding them to shatter. I didn't know the reason why I shook; it was a mixture of fear, anger even, but most of all, the _electrical current _–I have no other words to describe it- did whatever it pleased with me.

I felt as if _it _would rip my skin apart whilst trying to break free.

"Honey, listen to me…" I faintly heard Jake's husky voice plead through the deafening noise inside my head "You have to calm down. Breathe. You can do this." His hands pulled mine away from my face, so his could replace them, cupping it.

"Hold on" his thumbs brushed firmly against my wet cheeks, whilst the turmoil around us increased.

My eyes flutter to his words and I swallowed a cry, _I felt so scared_.But even though I was amidst in chaos, the sound of his voice slowly pulled me into a protective haze, forcing me to focus in the warmth of his touch, in the muskiness of his scent, in the way he grasped me -never flinching away- gave me a _reason_ to fight it and… I held on.

I held on with all my strength.

Gradually my senses succumbed to him, _and only him,_ my ragged breathing steadied and the ringing in my ears began to die out, along with the nausea.

He lightly pressed his forehead to mine as soon as the quivering of the Jeep stopped. My hectic breathing turned into uneven, slow pants but I kept trembling a little. Once I understood that it was all over, I collapsed against his chest and let out a shaky breath. He held me in silence, his heartbeat returning to normal.

We lay there in silence, my mind processing what just happened. A small spark of hope flickered in my chest as I realized that I pulled through, that in some way, I managed to claim control over it and stopped before it got really out of hand.

"Are you alright?" he breathed against my hair. I merely nodded, feeling how exhaustion invaded me.

After a few minutes in silence, he whispered to my ear "I'm taking you home" he kissed the top of my head and I heard his door open. I felt him move with me still straddling him by the waist, his arms secured me tightly around me so I wouldn't fall. He got out of the Jeep, walked along it and stopped to open the door on my side.

The cold mist hit my cheeks, instantly getting me awake and aware. He swiftly placed me in the seat and I stole a peek of his face which was smooth, his jaw set. He wasn't upset, but he didn't look at ease either. Grimacing, I looked away.

He was on his side in less then a second, closing the door and turning on the ignition again. As we pulled back into the road, the silence became a little uncomfortable –well, at least for me, anyway- I wanted to say something to him, but didn't know what.

_WHAT COULD I POSSIBLY TELL HIM? _

'_Hey, Jake? Sorry about earlier. Oh, I have an idea: Why don't you put your tools away so, you know -I WONT SHOOT THEM STRAIGHT AT YOU- just in case you want to go to __**second base –**__wink, wink-' _... Nope, don't think so.

Wait, wait. I had a better one: _'Hey, Jake? Haven't you ever heard of the expression __**'I'm gonna rock your world?' **_I rolled my eyes, highly pissed off with myself.

_GOD this wa__s humiliating! And to think that I believed__** anger **__made it worse -boy was I wrong-. He gets me all… -no, no, GOD NO! I won't say the word- … __**steamed up**__ (that's better) and **ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! **_I blushed crimson, biting my lower lip again.

_Oh, I just hope he doesn't fig-…_

His chuckle made me freeze, along with my inside cussing.

Surprised by his unexpected reaction, I turned to gawk at him. _What could possibly be so funny?_ I rose a brow at him, curious. Then it hit me like a solid brick against my stomach.

_Damn it! He knows?! __NO!!! _I recoiled. _Oh my God!!! How embarrassing!!!_

"What?" I couldn't help asking, bracing myself for his answer, turning almost purple now, holding my breath.

He threw me a huge smile and shook his head to himself. There was a speck of adoration in his eyes. What was he thinking?

"_WHAT?"_ I pressed on, getting irritated at his mocking silence.

"Your hair is a mess" he teased, raising his hand towards it and ruffling it even more; I blinked a couple of times, not fully processing his answer. And until it finally sunk in, I sighed quietly in relief and smacked his hand away.

"Yeah, well, it's not as half as bad as yours" I giggled and he simply rolled his eyes, smirking to himself. We both couldn't help laughing out loud once we caught our reflections at the windows.

My hair was indeed _**really**_ messed up, my curls were undone, poking in all directions; I tried fixing it with my fingers but it was useless; I groaned, giving up.

"Hey, don't get me wrong; I like it" his fingers ran trough my unshaped curls smoothly, sending me a tingly feeling all over. "It looks wild" he winked before he chuckled, making me blush again.

The air turned light again and I knew that Jake and I were ok; he reached for my hand and kept it in his. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his shoulder, enjoying the peaceful moment.

- - - - - - -

The ringing of my cell phone took me by surprise making me jump; I reached inside my pack and pulled it out. I frowned when I saw that I had five voice mails and twelve messages. Jacob looked at me and raised his brow.

"Sophie" I answered his silent question.

I sighed and decided that I wasn't in the mood to answer and explain all the infinite questions I was sure she would press on –knowing Sophia, the CSI's interrogation protocol didn't even come close to what she had set for me- I made up my mind and decided that I would call her back tomorrow.

My intention was to aim for the red button to SILENCE it but I accidentally pressed the TALK one instead.

"Hello? Kristen! Kristen, you there? Answer me." I shut my eyes and cussed silently at Sophie's apprehensive voice.

"Y-yeah, hey" I answered bleary, frowning.

"Oh, thank God" she breathed quietly against the speaker "Hey! W-where have you been? Are you alright? I called you like thirty times already and all I got was your stupid voice mail…" Sophie's voice sounded relieved and strained all at the same time.

"I'm fine. Sorry I didn't answer your calls, Soph. M-my phone died and I-I just barely noticed…" the lie left my lips and my stomach churned uncomfortably. I hated lying to her, she was a really good friend.

"It's just that y-you looked like shit in biology and…"

"Yeah, sorry about that too…" I cut her off.

"Could you please stop apologizing for everything!?" she interjected sounding highly annoyed; my lips went in a line. "I was really worried about you, Evans! You were a wreck when you ran out the classroom…"

I winced.

"Then I saw Cullen walk after you; I thought you guys were arguing again, but before he reached the door, I caught a glimpse of his face and instead of looking all pissed off –like he usually does- his expression worried me even more. He seemed really concerned about something… and I instantly thought about you!" my stomach gave a violent lurch at the mention of his name.

I fought the urge to look at Jake, afraid that he might have heard Sophie's comment.

"So, a couple of minutes before the bell rang, I excused myself and walked out looking for you. On my way I bumped into Alice; I immediately asked her if she'd seen you and she said no, but that she had an idea where you might be" Sophie continued.

"Before I could say anything else, the little pixie took me by the arm and towed me all the way to the library!" her tone became annoyed

"I knew perfectly well that you wouldn't be at the library and I told Alice that we should check the parking lot instead… but _you know how __**pushy **__she is!! It's impossible to contradict her!!! So, before I knew it, we were searching through the stupid book racks for you!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!?!?!"_ I stifled a laugh at how pissed off Sophie sounded.

_Yep, that was Alice alright. Small, pushy and pretty controlling. _I sighed sadly, I was going to miss them.

"Then after loosing almost 10 minutes, she said 'Yeah, I guess she's not here' and suggested we should check the parking lot instead" she nearly shouted in outrage "I swear Evans, one of these days that little pixie is going to get on the wrong side of me…"

"Sophie, Soph… calm down. She was just trying to help" my lips twitched as I imagined her face turning scarlet and glaring at Alice. Jacob kept looking at my side, but said nothing, completely pokerfaced.

"Yeah, I know…" she complained "Any ways, when we made it to the hall, my heart nearly stopped when I saw the ambulance pulling through the lot. I thought you passed out, had a stroke or something. I mean, really Kris, you looked…"

"- like 'night of the living death' zombie" I finished the sentence, feeling embarrassed.

"Well, you did…" she said apologetically and I grimaced. There was a short silence before she continued.

"When Alice and I got closer to the entrance, Edward was there" unpleasant chills ran down my spine. "Alice asked her brother if he'd seen you around. He told her that you just pulled out of the lot in your Jeep with your 'friend'; he didn't look so pleased about it, so I assumed you left with Jake"

"Yeah, I-I spent all afternoon with him…" I heard myself stammer. "Um, w-why was an ambulance at school, Soph?" I urged her, my heart picking up erratically and my hands sweating. Jake threw me an apprehensive look and placed a hand on mine, squeezing it reassuringly.

_Oh God__! This was it… _I braced myself.

"Well" she sounded confused by my question "Apparently Connor and his shit-headed friends got into a bad fight amongst them and ended up **severely** trashing up the entire hall in the process. I mean, really Kristen, the place looked like it was hit by a _hurricane! _Shattered glass, dented doors and lockers…I don't know exactly how they managed to cause this level of damage, but… with those **baboons**, _who knows?_"

My heart was a thousand miles per hour, I was near hyperventilation. Jake kept throwing me anxious looks but I couldn't move, talk or think. His hand was on my face, brushing it desperately.

"Honey…?" he whispered uneasy, but I just swallowed hard.

"I heard Edward telling Alice that he called 911 when he found them almost unconscious… He told the principal that they kept mumbling incoherently and the principal said it was because they were probably under the influence of pot or something."

My muscles, chest, lungs and heart tighten almost painfully as I held my breath.

_What did she just say? What does it all mean? I-I don't understand…_

"Yeah, like pot could waste them into that level of idiocy…. I mean, their brains were totally fried way before they even started smoking weed…" she continued talking on the phone but my head was buzzing so loud, that it impossible for me to understand what she was saying.

And then, her words slowly sunk in. One by one.

'_fight amongst them' ' ended up __**severely**__ trashing up the entire hall' 'he called 911 when he found them almost unconscious' 'they kept mumbling incoherently' 'they were probably under the influence of pot or something'_

"Honey, please say something…" Jake begged me now, both hands on my face, but all I managed to do was look at him, my lips pulling slightly upward, trying to smile. He stared back, confused.

"Kristen…?" an annoyed voice became louder through the speaker of my phone.

"Yeah, I-I'm here Soph"

"Did you fall asleep?"

"No. But I am kind of tired…"

"Ooops, right. Sorry. Um, how about I give you a call tomorrow, maybe we could even do something. I-I mean, if you want, of course"

"Sure, sure. Sounds cool" I tried to sound excited, but came out weary instead.

"God, you sound dead tired. I should let you go to sleep…"

"Thanks for worrying about me Soph" my voice broke a bit at the end, I hoped she didn't notice.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?"

"I guess" my heart warmed up a bit.

"Ok then, night. And, um… say hi to Jake for me when you see him" she snickered.

"I will. Night Green" I sighed exhausted.

"Night Evans" and she hung up.

I remained a statue, with the cell phone not far from my ear, replaying the last seconds of my conversation with Sophie in my head. A small smile ghosted the corners of my lips for a few seconds, but vanished, as I grasped _the reason_ for my unpredicted second chance.

Cullen.

Apparently, this antagonistic creature hadn't spoken a word.

_But why? _An uneasy-burning sensation spread through the pit of my stomach. _Why not expose me when he had the chance? Was he actually waiting for a better moment? _My teeth found my lower lip again and began chewing on it.

_Was he waiting to blackmail me with it? Was this his way on getting back at me? Manipulate me as he pleased until I couldn't take it anymore? _

_WHY WAS HE DOING__ THIS?_

"You're making plans with Sophie for tomorrow?" Jakes voice was soft; it made me jump out of my self-inflicted anguish. My eyes found his and locked in them; his pull was so strong I couldn't look away.

"I thought we were going to be around Canada at that time?" he raised his brow with a hint of mockery, his features remained smooth, his voice low.

"Apparently…" my throat went dry "I-Im staying after all" I tripped over my words; I swallowed hard and took in a deep breath to calm the uneasiness down a bit.

"What happened?" he asked, a bit louder than a whisper.

"Well…" I heard myself explain to him all Sophie had said; dodging several details that involved any of the Cullens, for obvious reasons. When I finally finished, he slowly raised his hand and swept a strand of hair away from my face.

"If what Sophie told you is true… then, it seems that you are safe" he gave me a small smile I was sure he meant it to make me feel encouraged, but I grimaced deeply.

"Why are you so worried…? You should be relief" he cupped my face "You don't have to run…"

"For now" my voice broke.

_UGH! Why was I being such a drama-queen? I should be relieved! HAPPY THAT I WAS STAYING!__! THAT I WAS SAFE!!! _

_WHY WAS I SPOILING THIS FOR HIM!?!?!?_

"He won't talk. Trust me" his eyes flashed in determination and I suppressed a shiver. We locked gazes again; there was so much determination to his pledge that I didn't dare contradict him. I didn't know how or why Jake was so sure of it, but I trusted him blindly.

I nodded slowly to his fierce words and pressed my forehead to his.

"Thank you" I breathed.

"For what?" he asked huskily.

"For looking after me" I pulled away to see his face.

"You mean so much to me Kris…" he kissed my cheek, leaving a burning sensation lingering in the sensitive skin "It's the least I can do".

Wearily, I got out of the Jeep. Jake placed my arm around his neck and snaked his arm around my waist, swiftly carrying my weight as I tried to walk. Once inside the house, my legs gave in; he gave a low chuckle, scooped me up effortlessly and carried me all the way to my room.

I felt him carefully place me on my bed, my eyelids weighted a ton, but I managed to open them enough to see him taking my boots of and pulling the blanket on me.

"Please don't go yet" my voice was weak, pleading.

"I will leave until you've fallen asleep" he smiled.

He took off his shoes and climbed to bed, lying next to me. With the last ounce of strength I had left, I hugged myself to him and placed my head on his chest. I let out a pleased sigh as soon as I heard his soothing heartbeat. His arms wrapped around me carefully; one of his hands reached for my head and buried itself in my hair. His fingers began massaging my scalp; the sensation was so delicious that my body simply went limp.

"Goodnight, love" he whispered against my hair. _Mmmm_ was all that came out of my lips.

Through the waves of exhaustion, I could hear Jacob quietly singing to himself what it sounded like Quileute lullaby; the tune was so sweet, so beautiful, that my heart drummed happily to each word that left his soft lips.

I drifted away into slumber, listening to his heartbeat and his song blend into perfection; images of an orange sunset on the beach, the green shades of the forest, and the sparkling orange flames of the bonfire slowly reached my subconscious. I saw his russet fingers entwine against my pale ones, his beautiful smile spread across his glorious face, his eyes sparkling once meeting mine…

_I love you _I heard him whisper quietly.

My lips pulled into a smile; a gushy feeling swirling all over.

For the first time in a really long time, I felt happy again.

* * *

**A/N: **hey there everyone! It's 12:32 am and I'm finally done –dead exhausted- I hope you like. Thank you so much for your patience *blushes* I've been going through a lot lately: work, school, errands –you know, the usual-

**R****eview! Review! x)  
**

**Review! Review! ;P  
**

**Oh, and please check out my new fic called: 'Breathe your life into me' I have to admit that I'm really enjoying writing it **** hope you enjoy reading it. **

**Love you all!**


	16. Just a matter of time

**The Serendipity of my existence**

**16. ****Just a matter of time**

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_Hmm__p…_

I glared at the ceiling while a huge frown spread through my face. The fact that I'd ran out of possible options made me feel deeply frustrated; nonetheless, my mind continued to race, hoping that a sudden brilliant plan might pop up out of nowhere and provided me what I desperately sought but, I had to admit that my chances were not looking good.

_There __just has to be a way… _

An irritated sigh broke trough my lips as I thought of my last attempt to _try and sit up on my bed…_ When I slightly shifted my weight and pretended to move, I _literally got pinned down _by the russet arm of the beautiful boy who slept peacefully right next to me. _Man, he wasn't kidding about being a heavy sleeper! _ Another frown spread through my face while I uselessly tried to squirm out of his grasp, but once again, his arm tightened around my waist, pulling me even closer to him.

I couldn't help but twitch the corners of my mouth a bit when I noticed the pleased sigh leaving his smiling lips.

Yeah, I know how this may look from an outsider's POV: cute and romantic and honey-dripping-all-over sweet… and I agree but, after ten long minutes of struggling against his adamant grip and not managing to break free, the 'tenderness' of the moment got replaced by a high dose annoyance and triple amount of exhaustion.

By the time I finally gave up, my left arm that somehow got stuck under Jacob's massive frame while I slept, gradually changed form slightly-pained to completely numb.

_Numb was__ better than pained, right? At least you don't __**feel**__ when you're numb…_

Deep inside I knew there was no force on Earth that would help me get my arm lose without ripping it in half first and the boy seemed to be in such an unfathomable trance that he just wouldn't respond to my loud callings nor my pained cries.

The thought of rock-climbing single-handedly popped into mind all of a sudden, making my grimace deepen even more. Hey, if I managed to constantly slip using both my hands_… Imagine what would happen if I tried to do it with just one? Ugh, I was doomed…_

So my next reaction was based purely on surviving skills; I know it was rather immature and a bit stupid but, it was the last choice I had left and to be honest, I was desperate.

_I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner._

Fighting an evil smirk, I placed my thumb and index finger on each side of Jacob's nose and pinched it softly; the small amount of pressure blocked the access of air for a couple of seconds. My smirk turned into a full wicked-smile when he finally noticed the lack of oxygen and an annoyed grunt grumbled deep inside his chest.

_Hey, whatta you know? It worked._Sarcasm flew freely through my thoughts and finally, I felt hope.

Stifling a triumphant laugh, I tried to draw back my hand before he noticed what I'd done but, unfortunately it wasn't fast enough; warm fingers closed around my wrist, holding it against his chest. "Too slow, love" he chuckled darkly, shaking his head to himself.

"You could have kissed me awake, you know?" he whispered mockingly through groggy words. "It always works on the movies" he turned to face my half-irritated/half-amused expression and smiled before he placed a small kiss on the tip of my nose.

"Well, it isn't _my fault_ Prince Phillip got it right the first try… Sleeping Beauty didn't suffer _that level of narcolepsy_…" I muttered accusingly at his smirking face.

"Narcolepsy?" he sounded genuine.

"Jake…" my scold came out like a whine "I kissed you. I CALLED your name… loudly! More than twenty times if I may add" my eyes squinting at his sleepy ones. "AND I shook you as hard as a singlehanded person could muster, but it didn't _work, so the…"_

"Why were you single-… oh" he interrupted my nagging and quickly understood what I was cussing about; giving me an apologizing look, he shifted his weight so I could pull my sore arm from under him; I began massaging it fervently, helping the blood flow slowly through my 'almost gangrened' left side.

"I'm so sorry" He apologized for the third time, chuckling huskily as he rubbed my limp arm between his huge hands; Jacob was doing such a great job rubbing my arm, that I merely nodded in response and enjoyed the feeling of my limbs returning to normal.

_AH! I could__ feel again…_

"So, now that you have my undivided attention" his hands released my arm only to encage me into one of his bear hugs, though he didn't crush me this time like he always did "… do you mind telling me what has you all whirled up like this?" he smiled again, skimming the tip of his nose through my cheek.

"You fell asleep" My eyes fluttered shut at the feeling of his fingers tangling my hair and slowly reaching for my neck.

"No I didn't" he smiled at my accusation.

"Yes you did…" I suppressed a sigh while his lips brushed mine once "It-it's 3 a.m. Jake"

"Really?" he whispered sarcastically.

"Yes, really…" the serious tone in my voice quivered slightly; the darned boy was making it impossible for me to concentrate. He continued to slowly kiss the outline of my jaw, fully aware of my reactions now. I silently reminded myself that I couldn't succumb to his charms because I was still 'kind of mad' at him, but I was loosing my façade a bit too _quickly._

"Come on Jake, you have to get home" I managed to choke out between the slow brushing of his lips, he noticed the effect he had over me because his lips pulled into a smile against my skin; he was enjoying every second of my torment.

"I am home" and with this he tightened his arms around my frame before taking my breath away in a deep, soft kiss. I immediately began melting around Jacob's contour, the happy beating of my heart washed away all trace of irritation as my breathing picked up with each kiss.

Once again, I was a puddle of mushy clay under his fingertips that he simply molded at will.

"Billy's going to kill you if he wakes up and doesn't find you in bed…" the breathless words were nothing but a whisper as I managed to pull away a few seconds later; he chuckled darkly between heaving breaths, smiling amused.

"No he won't" tussled my already messed up hair and pressed his lips to my forehead. "Besides, in order for the old man to actually kill me, he has to catch me first…" he winked "and I'm pretty fast, Kristen."

"Ha. Ha." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, do you want me to leave?" he met me through pained eyes, a speck of hurt and reproach in his words.

"Of course not" I sighed "But, I don't want to give your dad a reason to get upset with you. AND you know how communicative Billy and Lils are; I don't want to get in trouble either"

"Hmmm…" he was quiet for a moment, his lower lip pouting slightly. "Yeah, I guess you're right" he let out what sounded like a slow, annoyed breath. "I should go"

"Please don't" my arms tightened around him instinctively.

"But well get in trouble" he rose a brow at me, hiding a pleased smile.

_God, I hated it when he used my words against me._

"Screw getting in trouble; what's life without a little danger, huh?" I winked at him and kissed him quickly.

"No, no, no… we shouldn't be reckless" he shook his head while making a serious face; I could tell he was working really hard on not breaking into a smile but I knew it wouldn't last long enough.

"We need to follow our parent's rules" he nodded mostly to himself as if trying to prove his point. I merely stared at him. "I do remind you, Miss Evans that we have curfews and that it isn't gentlemanly like to be at your house and _in your bed_ at this time 'a night. What would the neighbors think?" he made a mocking horror-struck face at the last words.

I stared at him for a second before bursting into laughter. "Wait. Did you just say 'gentlemanly like'"?

"I'm serious, Kristen" he laughed with me, his huge frame shaking my small bed.

"Oh. My. GOD! WHO are you… and WHAT h-have you done… with My Jacob?" I managed to choke trough my fit of laughs. And then, suddenly, my spoken words slowly began to sink in and my laughter dimmed; embarrassment colored my whole face in different shades of red.

_Did I just call him My Jacob out loud?_

"I'm right here" he locked his gaze with mine; I could feel the adoration burning in his dark eyes. "I'm always here" he whispered before brushing his thumb against my cheek. I sighed against the warmth of his hand, my whole tense body relaxing instantly.

"Just wanted to make sure" the bridge of my nose found the hollow of his neck and pressed against it softly, feeling the vibrations of his pulse. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, enjoying the moment.

"I like it, you know" his chest rumbled softly and I couldn't help but smile. We both remained silent for a little while, listening to each other's breathing.

After several soft kisses and a couple of 'I really should leave's, Jacob finally managed to make it to the door of my room. As soon as he got out of bed, I felt utterly cold. _Strange, _I thought to myself.

We agreed that he would take my Jeep –since it was way too dark for him to make a 45 min walk all the way to La Push-."I will see you soon enough" he smiled "send me a message when you're back from Sophie's. Maybe after dropping off the Jeep, we'll go to the cliffs or something"

"Ok" I yawned sleepily.

"Good night, honey"

"Good morning" I corrected him and he chuckled, closing the door behind him.

As soon as I heard the Jeep pull out of the driveway, I felt myself drift away into a deep way of slumber. Today seemed to be a great day, a new beginning. I smiled at the ironic thought and clutched Jake's pillow -that was still warm- closer to me.

* * *

Sophie picked me up almost at noon –she'd overslept- but I didn't mind one bit; I woke up just in time to shower, change and pretend to be waiting for her all along.

"That CSI marathon last night was ass-kicking…" she said excitedly as we headed to Port Angeles. I internally grimaced, knowing what that show caused on my dear friend's _twisted little mind _and braced myself for an endless interrogation session that was surely to follow once I let my guard down.

_Focus, focus! _But I knew I wouldn't keep her at bay for long; she was way too good at this.

We talked for a while about random things but, deep inside my brain kept shouting that it was one of her _tricks_ and I knew it was right; the fact of her asking me questions about yesterday was simply terrifying, especially since she was an expert at seeing right through me. So, I tried as hard as I could to avoid the subject and somehow managed to pull it through. Until, we made it to our favorite sushi bar…

"Ok, now that you seem to be a bit more relaxed…" she said whilst dipping a piece of her sushi roll on the soy sauce "… I need some answers" her emerald eyes pierced mine menacingly.

"I knew this was way too good to be true" I frowned causing her to smile.

"You are aware that I always get my way, right?" her brow rose high "this could be much easier if you would simply cooperate with me" she flashed a genuine smile.

"I'm beginning to simply_ loathe _CSI, Green" I groaned at her little laugh and placed a piece of my roll on my mouth. After swallowing, I took a deep breath and sighed. I just couldn't keep stalling for time, so I gave up.

"What do you want to know?" I suppressed a wince and tried to keep my face as smooth as possible.

_Here we go…_

"Has he kissed you yet?" her emerald eyes grew even wider, excitement creeping up her voice.

"Who?" I blinked confused; this wasn't the question I was expecting.

"Ian Somerhalder" she rolled her eyes at me, her tone coming out irritated. My eyes squinted at her reaction as my slow mind tried to make sense at what she'd just said. _What does Ian Somerhalder have to do with …?_ "Jacob! Jacob Black! THE BOY YOU'VE BEEN HEAD OVER HEELS FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS!" she suddenly snapped "Has he kissed you yet!?!" Now I remembered why Sophie frightened me sometimes; patience wasn't her best quality; in fact, I wasn't sure she knew what the word meant. I suppressed a giggle, knowing she would probably bite my head off and stared at her in silence, my lips twitching once.

"He did, didn't he!?" her fuming expression melted into a huge grin. "I knew it, I knew it!!" she clapped her hands as she jumped in her seat excitedly. I felt my cheeks flush quickly and nodded once.

"FINALLY!" she squint her eyes at me. "You have to tell me all about it" she reached for my hand and tugged gently.

The contact made me feel good in some way; Sophie was my link with the real world –if I could call it that- and somehow I felt so distant from it. All the craziness going around lately was too much for me.

My prior anxiety slowly began to ease when I noted that Sophie's interest was mostly focused on me and Jacob more than any other odd thing happening at school so, I allowed myself to answer her curious questions, smiling once in a while at the nosiness of some of them.

I couldn't help flinching once Cullen's name came into the conversation; I tried to act normal but Sophie was such a great observer that I knew I hadn't fooled her for a second. She kept it as nonchalant as she could though, not hovering over the topic for long.

And when she retold the whole _'Sophie/Alice's extreme adventure through the pit's of the library racks in search for the Lost Kristen'_ my laughs were so loud that most of the people close by stared back at me as if I was mental.

"It's so not funny, Evans" she joined my laughing fit.

"I swear I have no idea how Alice being that sweet and tiny, can turn into the most pushy/annoying person in the world" she mused, still laughing.

"I keep asking myself that same question, Soph" I wiped my teary eyes with the back of my hand. It felt nice to laugh like that.

"I mean, she literally towed me as if I weighted nothing at all and I'm like 15 pounds heavier and 5 inches taller than she is"

"Guess when Alice wants to get her way, she musters the strength to get it done" I shrugged.

"We seriously need to do something about her, you know"

"Nah, I don't think she'd allow it" I burst into laughing again "Besides, we both love her, right?"

"Yeah, I guess" Sophie let out a sigh "but not when she gets all controlling and stuff" she added quickly. We both shared a smile of complicity and began talking about the movie we were going to watch.

"So, are we cool?"

"Hell yeah, Evans" she eyed me before flashing me a smile "We're cool".

* * *

Sophie and I made it back to my house a little past 8pm *wince* I wasn't aware of what time it was until we were out of the shopping center followed by a fully-loaded-shopping-bag-addict Alice Cullen, who curiously happened to be standing where we were looking.

"I keep telling you, Kristen. We need to make a plan on how to break that convincing effect she has over us" Sophie shook her head while parking outside the driveway.

"Come on, Soph. She just needed some help on picking up a dress for her dinner party" I smiled.

"A dress…" she glared back. "Ok, I see that. But, do you mind explaining to me: what the hell does a Louis Vuitton luggage set has to do with her dinner party? She bought two of them, in case you didn't notice…"

"Well…"

"Kris, she got me this!!!!" she interjected while yanking small yellow fabric out of one of the shopping bags -that were set at the back seat of her car- "I'm not even going to her dinner party! Why the hell do I need a _miniskirt?_ I don't wear skirts!!!

"But I think that it's cu-…"

"Have you ever seen me in a _Goddamned skirt?!?!? NO!! HAS SHE?? NO!!" _Sophie's tone began increasing as she frantically waved the innocent cloth in her balled fist. "_THEN WHERE THE HELL DID SHE GET THE IDEA THAT I NEEDED A FREAKING MINISKIRT!?!_" I had to say something before she had one of her tirades again.

"You are doing it again, Green" I threw her an accusing look.

"But Kristen, she made me loose precious time back there…" she whined loudly, sounding like a four-year old. "It's the library scene all over again!!!" I repressed a laugh at her pouting/annoyed glare.

"I know that Alice can be a little persuasive, but she's also our friend and…"

"A LITTLE PERSUASIVE?!?!?"

_Uh-oh! _I internally kicked myself. _Here we go!_

"_PERSUASIVE! HUMP!" _she threw her hands up in the air in sign of outrage, her face turning a lighter shade of purple and her voice reaching a high-pitch level that I was sure only dogs could hear it.

All I could make out of Sophie's unintelligible cussing were words like "manipulative" "this time she's gone too far' "controlling little brat" "when I get a hold of her…" "one of these days, she's gonna…"

"SOPHIE!" the words came out a bit stern. I felt myself raise my eyebrows at her.

"What?" she looked at me, her eyes flashing. I stared back at her and after a few seconds, she let out a defeated sigh.

"I know, I know…" her jaw clenched as she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to meet with Jacob after our movie?" Sophia's eyes squinted, a slight amount of acid in her tone

"Yeah… but its kind of late now for that" I glared at my watch, internally cussing too.

"That's exactly what I meant; we lost nearly three hours shopping for things that we're never going to use!!!"

I nodded.

"I know Soph. I just hope Jacob isn't upset with me because I didn't call earlier" I sighed again, feeling like crap. I took out my cell phone and dialed his number, cringing a little while doing so.

"Are you kidding me? The guy adores you" she rolled her eyes.

"Huh, that's strange. I got his voice mail…" It wasn't like him not to answer at the first ring.

"Well, maybe he's asleep" she shrugged nonchalantly as she handed me the shopping bags.

"He usually sleeps late but I guess you are right. He did leave my house pretty early this morning…" I blurted out as pressed the redial button one more time. I finally realized what came out of my mouth and the heat spread all the way to my ears. _Damn it!_

"Oh, he did, did he?" Sophie's mocking tone made me blush even deeper "No wonder the poor thing is dead tired" her smile was wicked, evil.

"Ugh! Nothing happened, ok? So don't get your hopes up" it came out defensively rather than convincing.

"Mmm-hmm"

"Sophie!" I scowled at her.

"Ok, ok. I believe you" her palms up in the air but her eyes glinted evilly.

"Ugh, you know what? Whatever! I don't have to prove anything to you" I groaned slightly annoyed and jumped out of the car, waving her away.

"Get plenty of rest, my dear!" she shouted delighted as she turned her ignition on. "I don't want you _passing out in the middle of biology next Monday_" she laughed loudly and drove away.

_Honestly!_I rolled my eyes, a small smile playing at the corner of my lips.

* * *

As soon as I made it to through the door, I called Jacob for the third time but his voicemail kicked in at the second ring; my lips pulled in a frown as I thought of how easy it would be to drive myself down to La Push if I had my Jeep here. _Damn it! Perfect/lousy timing! _I tried his house twice but not even Billy answered the hatred phone. _Hmm. _Still cussing under my breath, I quickly typed Jake a message and hoped that he would somehow read it and call back.

'_Jake:_

_So sorry I didn't call you earlier._

_Lost track of time while shopping with Sophie *frowns*_

_I'm home if you still want to drop by. _

_I wanted to drive down to La Push but remembered that you_

_still have my Jeep__, so…_

_Well, give me a call._

_I miss you terribly __'_

Once I showered and changed into my comfy sweats, I dragged myself back to the bedroom and collapsed on my small bed -placing my cell phone next to my pillow just in case Jacob called-.

"I wish you would just call" the small whisper left my lips as my heavy lids demanded to be shut.

A shiver shook me whole as a new nightmare took hold of my unconsciousness…

"Please, don't"

* * *

ALICE'S POV

"Alice…" my brother's whisper made me snap out of my vision. Though his face was smooth and expressionless, the stress in his tone gave him away. He was as worried as I was, maybe even more.

Edward's crouching figure remained motionless at the edge of the window, his eyes fixed on the trembling body of the fragile girl that continued to toss and twirl beneath the sheets.

"I know" I placed my hand on his rigid shoulder. His eyes met mine in a brief second.

"Just…"

"I will not leave her out of my sight, Edward" _Trust me, she will be fine under my surveillance._

"How long?" his gaze fell back to the darkened room.

"I'm not sure; nothing is clear at the moment" I frowned. _She is getting closer, though. _

"What about the dog?" he rasped suddenly.

"I can't see anything, well just have to play it by ear…"

He let an exasperated sigh "We can't risk it" his teeth clenched. I sensed the anger bubbling inside him.

"I know... but we just have to stick to what we have right now" I apologized. "It's just a matter of time, Edward"

A menacing growl erupted from his chest and for a second, I worried that the sound would wake the girl up.

"Emmet should come with you" I spoke as soon as a new image popped into my head. Edward had made another decision.

"No. They need to stay here, all of them" he shook his head once "We still don't know how this will turn out" his lips went into a tight line.

"Damned flea-bags" The fact that I couldn't see past the pack of wolves was starting to annoy me, especially under these dangerous circumstances.

"Edward…" he shifted his weight slightly. _Please be careful._

"I will be fine" he reached for me and kissed the top of my forehead once. "Please…"

"No one will get hurt; you can count on that" I promised.

Throwing one last glance towards the bed, he disappeared into the black-pitch night. I heard him run swiftly trough the forest, knowing that in just a few seconds more, he would be out of our reach.

I sighed deeply, remaining quite still outside Kristen's window; I winced again as my mind registered that she was having one of her bad dreams; but somehow, this nightmare was different... I heard the boy's name mentioned several times between her jagged breathing.

Her broken sobs made me squirm in place and I couldn't help myself anymore; it took me less then a millisecond to enter her tiny room and stand next to her small bed. As her trashing increased, I carefully brushed my cool fingertips against her clammy forehead while whispering to her that everything was going to be alright. I repeated this over and over again until her wild heartbeat finally calmed down.

Knowing that Edward would scowl at me as soon as he found out about what I'd done –him and his rules- I decided that I didnt care that much. _Ill deal with him later. _I couldnt bear to see her agonizing like this... i loved her too._  
_

"Please" the weak voice plead through the pale lips, my eyes falling on her tortured features "Jake! Don't... "

"I'm so sorry, Kris" I_f only I could avoid the faith that is heading both your ways…_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: **Whoa! It's been almost a month since my last update, so sorry for that. *smiles sheepishly* Well, here you have it! I don't know what to say about it yet, but I would love to hear what you think.

Almost at the end, I added Alice's POV *blushes crimson* the fact of doing so terrified me to death, since I don't know much about Alice's character. Please tell me what you think about that? How bad was it?

I know, I know… but I had to. Alice plays a very important role on the following chapters and well, I guess I needed to give her a chance *slight frown*

Ugh, it's late. I need to go to bed. I'm dead tired

**Please read and review! Love you *hearts you* **

**Review, review, review.**


	17. Shadow

**A/N: Ok, before you start chasing me with lit torches and start throwing rocks ****–or any pointy sharp objects you find in your way- let me tell ya something first: there has been a new addition to the family: my beautiful new-born nephew! So, yep, Im an Auntie now (: And you don't want to leave that poor munchkin Auntless, right? RIGHT? *batters eyelashes frantically***

**So, have a heart! Please… Im sorry it took forever to update *Pouts* I hope I have your forgivness *pleading eyes***

**Ok, Im done.**

**Um, I suggest that you give a quick read to the previous chapter just in case you feel a bit lost (there should be no need for that if I**** would have updated quicker… *groans annoyed at self*) But, come on, you know you want to ( I always do when I read yours)**

**Thanks!**

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* * *

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**The Serendipity of my Existence**

**16. Shadow.**

~I wont run when the sky turns to flame

And I sure won't budge when the earth does shake~ Anya Marina

**Alice POV**

"Please tell me you're joking…" my lips pulled back in irritation as several specks of images fluttered inside that persistent little mind of hers. Ugh! She was thinking of skipping school and driving down to the reservation again!

I knew oh so well that once she entered _their turf,_ I would be blind as a **bat**! I wouldn't be able to keep tabs on her!

Huh. '_blind as a bat'. _Maybe if I wasn't in such a crappy mood I would've actually laughed at the joke.

Don't feel like laughing now, though. Not a single bit.

'Oh, I'm so taking a vacation when this is over' –hmp, THERAPHY, more likely! -Now I felt like weeping- I was a complete ball of stress… Couldn't she see what she was doing to me?

But my disturbance was quickly overpowered by anger when her choices shifted once again. I simply couldn't believe it! She was actually considering on driving across the Olympic Peninsula, searching for _them _on her own!

"_**D**__**on't you give a damn about my state of mind at all?"**_

'_**I'm telling you Evans: my temper is brittle, don't you even **__**dare try it,**__** cause I wont take any cr-…'**_

My infuriated scold wasn't meant to reach her ears but my wound up growl certainly made the windows of the nearest car to quiver hard -hard enough for a couple of bystanders to notice it, that is-.

'_Calm down Mary Alice' _the inner voice warned sternly as the two students continued to stare at the trembling windows of the burgundy Passat with a curious expression on their face.

"**Can't.** She's exasperatingly relentless" I grinded my teeth harshly to avoid yelling at the top of my lungs and causing anymore unnecessary attention; but Kristen's desperate options had me _way past the line of anxiety_ and it wasn't pleasant to get a vampire all _worked up _about something.

'**Hell no! We can easily lose our focus when we get this upset****!'**

_C__rack._

The firm sound -bursting from my left side- made me look down for a microsecond, finding my perfectly pink-polished fingernails half way through the thick bark of the moss covered spruce.

Red filled my vision…

'_**Damn it! I've just ruined my freaking manicure!**_'

Another hostile growl was built up in the back of my throat, I could feel it begging to burst free.

'The humans are close, Alice. _Calm down_' the voice kept warning.

With a herculean effort, I managed to swallow it, surprised at my self control; I knew nobody would actually see me between the thickness of the forest, but even so, another slip like that and I would have to change my position to avoid being caught –or looked over- or whatever.

I made an internal note to fix my nails as soon as I made it home and that seemed to cheer me up a tinsy bit. Besides, there was this new 'glow in the dark purple nail polish' I've been dying to try and… –

Oh. Wait. I shouldn't get distracted by these minor details. I had other things to worry about…

**Kristen Evans **_and her suicidal attempts._

Grrrrrrrrrrr.

There was a hint of doubt in her last alternative, though; she vacillated a little, allowing me to breathe for a few seconds and try to clear the turmoil inside my head. My fingertips reached for my temples, massaging them tensely –ignoring my already ruined nails in order to keep my mental sanity-.

'_I swear that one of these days, __**that girl **__is going to give me __a heart attack__ –and that's not an easy thing to do- especially when you are someone who's heart isn't actually beating at all' _ Hey, another lame joke.

'I'm on a roll here!' Lips twitched once.

'_And to think that Emmet's pigheadness drove me mad …'_ Well, guess **she **proved me wrong.

Several long breaths later, ease began to spread slowly across my chest; it's been a while since I've gotten _this edgy. _But no one could really blame me for that, could they?… I mean, the creature I was monitoring was more than 'sneaky' most of the time finding a way past my surveillance with out her being aware of it.

'_Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… __well, lets just say things would get ugly' _my lips pursed in a tight line as my sight squinted directly at my not-so-innocent target at sake.

'_Its gonna be a looooong day!'_

* * *

My eyes kept glued at Kristen's Jeep –which remained at its usual spot in the school's parking lot-; she had pulled in bit earlier today but no one seemed to have noticed the indistinct detail.

I certainly did, though…. It was quite clear that staying inside her small room and wait for the 'situation' to _change_ was becoming unbearable for the girl; she just _**had to keep her mind off things **_or else she would just end up _losing it_ –just like two nights ago-.

Relief came in waves as soon the premonition showed how the jagged pieces of glass – the ones that burst violently from the rectangular mirror on her wall- would miss her entirely once her tremors got out of control.

_N__o cuts. _

_No blood._

_No drama._

But even so, I held my breath seconds before it even happened. My self control went beyond strong but fiddling with my limits like that... hmp, that was something even _**I**_ didn't dare to try. As much as I hated to admit it, the smell of fresh blood had a minute effect on me –on all of us, really- and it was something we had to deal with whenever it became an issue.

Well, that turned out to be one exhausting night; but the hardest part about the whole incident was keeping my thoughts away from Edward. He'd called yesterday morning just to check on her and beyond my strongest efforts, he saw right through me like an open book.

'_Curse hi__m and his mind reading!'_

Still, I managed to convince him on not returning to Forks when I saw him decide it.

"_You have a more crucial task to deal with, bro. You know that!" _but regardless to anything he disputed, Edward decided to stick to the original plan. He wasn't happy about it and somehow I had a feeling that he was going to have a _talk_ with me later.

Sigh.

'_**Oh! A have a little sympathy, why don't you? Is that too much to ask?'**_Kristen's mind games lured me back to the present time -she continued taunting me with the same images over and over again-_: Going into Quileute territory or driving across the Olympic Peninsula._

Once more, I closed my eyes and continued working on my 'breathing' –not that it was doing much for me, I didn't really need to breathe- but I was desperate to try anything to keep me sane.

'_Sane? Hmp!'_

"_Hey, Alice?" _Emmet's voice echoed dangerously inside my head as I took in another gulp of air through my set jaw _"If the chick keeps giving ya a hard time… shoot her with a tranquilizing dart" _I remember how his evil smile flashed all the way across the living room as he continued playing with the remote.

"_T__hat will slow her down". _His eyes sparkled mischievously. Even I felt a bit scared of his ways sometimes.

Of course Esme's disapproving growl came a second later, causing Emmet to keep his mouth shut and not push the topic any further unless he wanted to get into trouble –like that would've stopped him-. Before I reached the door this morning –to continue with my babysitting duties of the day- Emmet flashed me another of his wicked grins and winked.

'_You know what to do' _he mouthed.

"_EMMET DALE McCARTY CULLEN!"_

That's right!

_Esme._

I was pretty sure her authoritative scold was heard all the way to Alaska.

"_Shit"_ He cussed under his breath but I was already halfway trough the woods before he tried pinning anything on me.

Even so, at this point of the game, Emmet's idea was rather tempting…

I know, I know. Edward wouldn't approve –frown- but really, done properly it could be quite painless. Besides, she would feel nothing stronger than a little p-… '_Oh, who was I kidding? Edward would chop me into pieces and flick a match over my remains and watch me burn'_

Hey, as much as I loved that girl, she wasn't giving me much of a choice here.

"Seriously Kristen, couldn't you just-…-"

But the surly sentence lingered in my lips, my gaze resting on the dark shades encircling her eyes. Between the insomnia, the anxiety outbreaks and the nightmares, this was the second week in a row she hadn't been able to sleep and even though she was beyond exhaustion, the mulish teen would simply not give up.

And it was my job to keep her out of any circumstance that will put her in jeopardy *rolls eyes*

'_Piece of cake, right?' _

_**Wrong!**_

_Sigh._

I saw the girl shakily shift her weight so that the knees were at the level of her chest, slowly hugging herself to them. Through the shadows of the trees where I kept immobile, I felt the muscles of my face tightened as I drank the pain and misery behind her amber eyes.

My selfishness seemed to have retained my full attention causing me to forget about the hell _she _was going through.

There was a slow, longing sigh that caused my insides to churn uneasily. She was thinking of him again.

"_Where are you?" _her whisper broke at the very end; pale fingertips traced the outline of the handmade bracelet she wore around her feeble wrist. She didn't even tried to wipe away the fat tears that were trailing down her cheeks since there would be more to follow.

"Please…" she placed her lips against the dark circular stone of her bracelet, a soft sob shaking her thin body.

"… I need you"

She continued to cry in silence, mumbling the same words over and over under her breath. My chest throbbed painfully at the agony of the scene, my thoughts flying immediately towards _**Jacob Black**_.

It was ironic how this specific boy, the one that had eased her worries and comforted her in the most gentlest of ways –drying up her tears and softly kissing all of her fears away; putting her back together every time she crumbled to pieces and whispered against her hair much he loved her while she slept - had suddenly become the reason of all her aching and distress.

His absence was affecting her even deeper than anyone would have ever dreamt of. She needed him because she loved him.

She **was in love** with him.

And as far as I knew **he loved her as much as she did him. **

But even I couldn't see what would come out all of this chaos, I just hope that in some way, it would work for them.

'_Wait a minute. Did I just say that?'_

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing even close to a soft spot for the mutt, but… -sigh- he certainly knew how to make her laugh, she literally glowed whenever he was near her. Every time she spoke the boy's name, I could hear her heart flutter excitedly and a stunning smile would spread across her face.

He made her feel alive.

And now, without him, _she was losing herself_.

I didn't really get why she concerned me that much –it wasn't common for our kind to be so fond of a human- but I guess the stubborn girl sort of won me over, like she did with her friends and even with my brother.

"Damn it!" Kristen's loud curse seized my attention once again as she banged her fists angrily against the steering wheel.

"UGH! WHY WON'T THEY JUST COME CLEAN WITH ME! **WHY BOTHER ON GIVING ME ALL THESE SHITTY LIES!"** she banged them again –harder this time- and began to shake.

It was obvious for me that her mind had settled on _the repetitive replies given to her by the Quileute's_… she was so fed up with their little façade –not buying anything they told her- and I couldn't blame her, she was a little too insightful for her own good.

At first the story Billy Black told her over the phone about how Sam Uley unexpectedly took the boy on trip across the Olympic Peninsula -under **"tribal matters"** as they would call it- seemed genuine to her but something in between didn't quite click for Kristen.

'Like I said, way too perceptive' Sigh.

She called the boy's mobile several times during the first day but received no answer; she even texted him, trying to look nonchalant but, again, nothing _"Not like him" _She told herself.

Then she called the Black's house again –on the third night of the boy's departure- his father picked up after the 20th ring and flatly told her that Jacob had forgotten his cell phone under his bed but before Kristen had a chance of asking him anything else, the line went dead.

She tried calling a few more times but, no one in the Black's residence seemed interest in answering; so she gave up. I remember her placing the small phone under the pillow –near her ear- and clutching the other pillow for dear life. The boy's name often slip her lips as her eyes remained focused on a spot on the wall…

She didn't sleep that night –nor the following nights for that matter- anxiety and suspicion started to hitch up within each passing day, increasing the depths of her nightmares when exhaustion finally caught up with her.

Since Edward was away, I was the one who spent the entire night on guard outside her window. It was awful watching the girl trash back and forth in her sleep –objects flying violently across the room-; whenever the nightmares made presence in her subconscious, I would stand next to the edge of the bed and tried calming her down but my efforts became useless. Whatever she was dreaming about, had a really strong hold on her.

Now I understood my brother's mood once he returned to the mansion the next morning… I regretted being a pest and picking on him like that.

When Kristen came back about a week ago, she went straight to her room and picked up the phone –she decided to call Emily instead-; she was so distracted to notice that Lily was already using the line. It took her a few seconds to realize that, and when she did, she made the motion of hanging up but something stopped her… Jacob's name left the woman's lips and the girl held her breath.

"… _give him time__, Billy. It's has happened before; he's in good hands"_ even though Lily tried to sound comforting, there was a small edge at her tone.

"_I know. I trust him" _Billy's voice was impassive. _"But you know what this means… once it starts…" _he made a small pause.

"_I__ am aware of that…"_ the bitterness in Lily's voice was evident for Kristen.

"_You know it isn't safe Lils; make sure she doesn't…"_

"_She wont...__"_ she sighed heavily "Hách awí".

Billy replied back and she slowly hung up.

Confusion and hurt was branded on the girl's face for the longest time. She remained frozen one the spot, the phone on her ear and bitter tears surfacing on the corners of her eyes. I could tell that she felt betrayed… betrayed by one of her own. But she didn't understand the reason why Lily would keep something as important as Jacob from her.

I saw her struggle between walking downstairs and demanding her aunt for some answers or acting oblivious about the whole incident and try to figure things out on her own.

"_Guess I'__m alone on this, then" _determination on her tone.

The next day, instead of driving to school –like predicted- she sped down to La Push, dodging my visions as I headed back home to change into my school clothes. 'Damn her precarious glitch'. It's needless to say that Edward nearly ripped my head off when he found about it…

I remained still as a stone, all senses alert and ready until her return to our side of the Treaty line; the frustration in her eyes told me that the trip to the Black's house didn't go well at all.

"_Billy's lying! Who the hell does he think he's dealing with?" _she dug her nails into the steering wheel as she continued to drive away –I was running right next to the road, on a small trail that was covered by gigantic pine trees and bushes-.

From that day on, phone calls had become futile since everybody seemed devoted on not picking up or calling back. They had their motives on keeping their distance and I, for once, agreed with them.

_Odd, I know! Never in my 75 years as a vampire have I even vaguely dreamt of siding with the dogs but _it really wasn't safe for her to be hanging around their land -or anywhere near the woods- when these treacherous circumstances were closing in quite fast.

'_And with that rotten luck of hers…' _there was no need for me to finish the thought.

Still, she kept trying.

Now I understood why Edward had always been within her reach; Kristen was somehow impulsive once she set her mind on something. But still, I found quite amusing how much her character irritated him.

"_Edward, she's a human girl… what did you expect?"_ I would tease him. _"You need to be patient with her, she's young"_

"_And stubborn"_ he would add immediately through clenched teeth while pinching the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb.

But now that I've become fully responsible for her during his absence, I've reached to the conclusion that _"Humanity" _and _"Young age"_ have definitively nothing to do with her _**unfathomable stubbornness**_.

"It's a good thing I'm psychic, Kristen. You are giving a hell of a time here chasing after ya" I threw the girl a weak smile as I saw her pull out of the Jeep and slowly walk up to the school's building.

Inside her head, she decided to stay in school for a little longer – only to try and work out a plan on contacting Emily without being avoided- but at least, she was being polite enough to spare my sanity for a couple of hours.

Out of the blue, I had a vision and reached for my cell –answering it- before it even rang.

_Edward_.

"I'm with her"

"How is she?" he tried to sound smooth.

"A mess"

He let out a frustrated sigh, probably stealing some of the images of Kristen out of my head.

"She's growing even more suspicious now that everyone is avoiding her"

"Stay with her, no matter what" his voice was urgent.

"I will" my eyes on the girl as she reached for the door "How's it going over there?"

"Hard to keep track" anger colored his words "Every movement is careful… probably knows I'm close" the grinding of his teeth made me flinch.

There was a small pause and I felt his mood change lightly.

"Alice…"

"Like her own shadow, Edward. Nothing will go through me…"

"Thank you" the fervency of those words made me squirm in place; I felt even heavier now. "I will call you again soon. Tell the others to be ready…" and he hung up.

With a soft thud, I landed on the balls of my feet and swiftly made way inside the bricked building before anyone noticed.

_Ok, Miss Evans. _

_Bring it on!_

* * *

**A/N: ****So, what ya'll think? I simply loved writing Alice's POV even though it took a lot out of me to get it right. Um, I left a couple of hints lying around there *giggles* if you missed them, then I guess youll just have to read again x)**

**Im dedicating this chapter to my beloved: **

**T****heMasaltoff**

**xCLOx **

**Lovely-Lethal**

**Calalily123**

**Girls, thank you so much for your patience and your words of encouragement. Its finally up! *cheeky smile***

**My musical dancing dragon aka Musik Drache: where the heck are you**** and your updates? Hahaha Just kidding with ya! I miss you so much *pouts***

**READ AND REVIEW! LOVE YOU FOR DOING SO!**

**Oh, heads up! For chapter 17, SOMEONE is dropping bye… that's all im gonna say *evil smile* mauahahahahaha**


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